“Insouciant Parisienne meets British post-punk” is how the design team at Sonia by Sonia Rykiel described its appealing fall production. Taking cues from The Slits’ guitarist Viv Albertine, the season was built around essentially masculine elements playfully mixed and matched to conjure nonchalant sexiness in tune with the label’s Saint-Germain attitude.
Translation: Conservative Prince-of-Wales checks were printed on a body-hugging stretch-cotton suit, allowing Sonia’s irreverent girls to look chic but carry on with their active lifestyle in a sans-soucis fashion. Tartan leggings matched with open-back turtlenecks struck the same note, while the house’s star prints on silky tops contrasted well with skinny leather pants cut like jeans.
The real power pieces were outerwear. The team made it its mission to push the envelope with faux fur. Coats boasting rabbitlike softness came in a youthful palette of blush pink and shamrock green. Some were striped — a Rykiel signature — while others veered into British territory via brushed wool tartan prints that looked particularly fun on a three-piece ensemble of shorts, thick scarf and cape-coat hybrid.