Inès de la Fressange likes to offer something for everyone in her eclectic wardrobe, from basics like sweaters and simple silk blouses to easy evening dresses — this season done in blue crushed velvet — and Savile Row-inspired suits, and there was all of that here. But there were touches of eccentricity, too: colorful velvet suits printed with graphic motifs inspired by Carnaby Street in its heyday, and Sixties-inspired print dresses, for example.
A Seventies-style Fair Isle sweater vest caught Elie Top’s eye; it was the spitting image of the one he was wearing as he passed by the presentation at the Ritz. “Do you want to design my men’s line?” de la Fressange asked him. She put the same question to the newly independent Bruno Frisoni when he walked in the door. Could a new job already be in the works?
As for de la Fressange’s ever-growing accessories range, there was a new tie-up with artisanal shoemaker Philippe Zorzetto for a range of ankle boots, and wellies made by Aigle, the French specialist in the genre. In the lifestyle domain, where products encompass tea and olive oil, there was even an electric bike by Gitane with de la Fressange’s signature striped logo.