Many of the large luxury houses didn’t seem to get the memo about reigning in the excess — why so many looks to a lineup when people are taking to the streets with messages about too much stuff?
Maybe Cecilia Bönström got it, though. Paring things down this season, with a shorter lineup in a more intimate setting, she homed in on a Parisian silhouette and nudged the Zadig & Voltaire woman — best known for her rock-chic attitude — into the evening.
In a sparse, underground space at the Ritz, Bönström sent down ruffled blouses and dresses, leather trousers, sexy bustier tops — with a strap on one side — cashmere sweaters brushed for a fur effect, a satin suit in baby blue and layers of silk and lace.
Square-toed boots had high, chunky heels, and came in bright colors. Leather jackets and jeans — both a brand staple — were adjusted, with the pale, acid-washed jeans rolled up to show off the ankle or stretched down long, fringed-edges sweeping the ground, split in the middle to show off skin and strappy sandals. A bright red jacket was stamped Voltaire across the lower back. Others carried a worn treatment, the house’s signature crinkled look.
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“I always look for a touch of something off-beat,” she noted backstage before the show, pointing to a detail on a flower pattern — a dead leaf with holes meant to evoke the eyes of a skull. The same image reappeared as earrings, outlined in rhinestones.
“At Zadig & Voltaire, there are loads of details but you don’t see them at first, for me, that’s the subtlety of the Parisian woman,” she added, lifting her trousers to show sandal straps that formed a Z and a V.
The latest addition to the brand’s accessories thrust made its debut, a neat little pocket-sized handbag with brushed metal embellishments and adjustable chain strap. Designed with Kate Moss, it was worn across the chest, the way the Parisian girls do. Moss nodded approvingly in time to the music, from the front row, Eva Herzigová sat nearby.
After the show, the pair — and the crowd — moved upstairs for a garden party in the Ritz, where their friend Lou Doillon performed under a light sprinkle of rain.