Now the cool boys in Isabel Marant’s entourage can rest easy: The French designer has finally come through with men’s wear, and it’s here to stay. “I gave in to popular demand,” she admitted backstage, saying the campaign had been going on since her popular H&M hookup four years ago. The guys were offered thick gauge knits that poured over their shoulders like treacle, Windbreakers and toothsome trackpants, with rope flip-flops or slides on the feet.
But back to the girls. The show started with crisp white: frilled shirts; ingénue broderie anglaise minidresses; denim with circular patterns piercing the legs; a double-breasted jacket tucked into trousers that were loose on the thigh and tight at the ankle. Sporty details started to crop up.
By midway point, the collection hit its stride, brash colors and metallic materials bringing a sporty-glam mien: boiler suits rolled down to reveal swimwear; trackpants were cut from shimmery florals and paired with voluminous tops; lightweight blousons could pass for shirtdresses, and high-cut briefs had the aplomb of daring shorts. Whenever she went too high on the leg and too voluminous on the sleeve, it didn’t quite work, like wearing stilettos to the beach. Performance water sports details — geometric banding, ripcords, even the after-effort cover-ups — were spot-on.
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No matter what Marant’s source material is — here broderie anglaise and surf gear — her cool-girl formula is simply throwing things together. Her knack for tapping what’s on the streets lent sporty updates to her brand signatures of high-waisted trousers, parkas and flirty dresses. After the show, the designer said she’d wanted to keep things easy, “otherwise you’d end up looking like a sports coach.” No doubt will fans jog, not walk, when the collections arrive in stores next spring.