Laura and Deanna Fanning took over Brasserie Mollard by Saint-Lazare train station, one of the oldest family-run restaurants in Paris, for a fall collection inspired by the life of Vali Myers, an Australian dancer who was a part of the city’s burgeoning bohemian movement in the 1950s.
Myers’ eccentric, sometimes androgynous style inspired them to spin the collection toward a playful and free-spirit direction, juxtaposing retro feminine shapes and tomboy charm. They also looked at the women in the black-and-white images of Ed Van Der Elksen’s “Love of the Left Bank” circa 1956.
“The way the women put the clothes together felt very fresh to our eyes, even though they were 75 years old. They were on an adventure to discover themselves and realize that they could do anything they wanted. We feel like it’s something that perhaps today is missing,” the Fanning sisters said.
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They integrated sheer fabric into their signature DIY hybrid creation process for the first time with new propositions like a torso-baring, underwear illusion bodysuit with a wide kimono-style belt, and a wool slipdress with netting detail and sheer hem. There were also tailoring pieces offered in pastel with drawstring waists and ties wrapped into collars, and delicious alpaca blend coats.
“We thought about the stiffness of women’s clothes in that era, and how we could distort those. Like in a lot of the pieces that we’ve done, we tried to break the tailoring fabric with crinoline or something that feels like a soft jersey. The knitwear has points. We started with the bullet bra and thought about how the points of that could become full garments. And that’s how the striped knitwear came about,” the duo explained.
The show also debuted a new sneaker model with Asics featuring a split toe and sinuous pattern.