Guillaume Henry revisited the Nina Ricci codes through a minimalist Western filter, tempering the house’s bourgeois inclinations with references to cool workwear.
In a witty twist on the signature lingerie theme, the designer nodded to old-school men’s wool undershirts in button-down jumpsuits and candy pink midi-length dresses.
There were cotton skirts with five-pocket denim constructions and low-slung long john pants in buttery leather or dry, double-faced camel cotton — paired with tuck-in-or-leave-out stretch silk bodysuits, scooped at the sides to show a hint of the hips.
The jeans jacket came revisited in a variety of surface treatments including charcoal wool patterned with devoré circles, PVC masquerading as croc and retro quilted fabrics. Other highlights in the tactile collection included a coat in strips of rabbit fur recalling corduroy. “I really like that it’s fur but has the ease of a sweatshirt,” Henry said.
The palette of strong pastels — mixing fresh, powdery, makeup tones like lilac and peach with a spectrum of blues — was anchored by spots of charcoal. Rich surface treatments abounded, but everything was light and unlined.
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The designer also played on opposites. He softened sporty silhouettes with rounded constructions, like a maxi-parka in double-faced cotton enveloping the body like an opera coat. Boyish items paired with unabashedly feminine elements like lace blouses in a mix of Chantilly and polka dots and black pussy-bow blouses in a cute allover eyelash print.
“I’ve been at Nina Ricci exactly two years and so far I’ve been working with this idea of an elegant chic, self-confident woman — a woman who knows herself — with the use of a lot of strong, rich colors. This season, I wanted to express the same self-confidence but through something a little softer,” Henry said. “Maybe it’s linked to everything that is happening in the world, I don’t know. There’s a desire for softness, cocooning and protection.
Henry also resurrected a Nina Ricci puffer from the Nineties — blown up and revisited in silk, with the house’s name spelled out on the back.