While we can all agree that our insatiable hunger for the beautiful garments being cooked up by Balenciaga, Rochas, and Dries van Noten across the Atlantic is the primary cause of our sleepless nights preceding Paris Fashion Week each year, we cannot deny that we are almost equally as ravenous for the divine duds draping the women along the streets of Paris during this immaculate week.
After all, as designers increasingly look to street style for artistic inspiration, and as the modern woman looks to the runway to embellish her personal style with the wit and creativity of her most beloved couturiers, street style has come to blend the best of both high fashion and urban spirit. This has allowed it to become an object of intense interest among we fashion aficionados.
What is especially remarkable and heart-palpitation-inducing to the legitimate fashionista with every Paris Fashion Week is the incomparable unique personal style of the women along the boulevards. It seems as though when it comes to street style, Paris quite unfairly produces women who possess the invaluable eye for blending couture with street fashion, while staying true to personal style — that is, adding that perfect stroke of creative genius to an outfit that screams “beautiful,” “authentic,” and most importantly, “original.”
As observed by Vogue, many runway show attendees in Paris this past week stayed true to effortless monochromatic minimalism. However, they really exercised true aesthetic initiative by adding personal and bold touches to their outfits. Women were seen sporting the timeless black and white signature look with pops of color via royal blue turbans, fire-engine-red booties, and patterned staple pieces such as floral straight line skirts and zigzag blouses. One woman was spotted wearing a gorgeously crafted black structured A-line dress with a radiantly bright orange Salvatore Ferragamo bag and a matching orange beanie with an attached net veil effortlessly draping her face.
Furry, striped, pointed Fendi pumps with geometric stiletto heels were seen adorning the very fashionable feet of women wearing perfectly tailored, solid monochrome coats. Clearly, Minimalism has decided to prolong its visit for yet another season. Even still, the incredibly original means of embellishing Austerity’s cousin with assertive colors and unorthodox accessories, such as the turban, proves that personal style may just take precedence over trends these days.
A large degree of creative license was even taken to reintroduce and rework vintage trends. Especially notable this past week was the reemergence of the full skirt à la Christian Dior circa 1950, which was oftentimes solid-colored and paired with button-down tops, producing a sense of cool, understated femininity. Rather than keeping the dreadful nipped-in waist and large-hip silhouette originally intended by Dior (and, above all, to risk looking like Lucille Ball), women made the full skirt relevant by offsetting the traditional silhouette with loose, collared oxford shirts and laid-back sweaters with funky graphics.
Not surprisingly, the Man Repeller herself (blogger Leandra Medine) decided to undertake this creative endeavor, and successfully transformed the dreadful New Look into an effortlessly cool understated yet ultra-feminine look, complete with a bright red Tibi skirt (pockets included, of course), pointed Jimmy Choo pumps and a white button-down Carven blouse, which properly displayed Leandra’s signature quirkiness via its unusual asymmetrical collar…very Pope-like.
Surprised?
Trends were bent in every direction and conventionalism effectively bit the dust as women juxtaposed contradictory fabrics; played with cuts and hems; displayed seemingly arbitrary graphics atop beautifully crafted jackets and blouses; and mixed vintage with modern, austerity with ostentation, structure with cool understatement. IMG Model Joan Smalls was photographed in a frilly royal blue mini skirt, black loafers with ankle-high socks, and a slouchy gray KENZO sweater displaying the brand’s signature bold graphics — a look that played down Smalls’ cool boyishness with a hyperbolically feminine skirt. Others were spotted wearing outrageous bold patterned pants and coats with preppy oxford shirts — a look so contradictory, it could almost be thought of as a sort of satirical commentary.One woman, photographed by Vogue’s Phil Oh, wore a gorgeous crème-colored satin top coat with a large graphic of a rooster decorating the back, adding that small touch of personal style that, in my opinion, is just plain fun.
The entire Parisian street scene during Paris Fashion Week 2013 had the aura of a giant, grown-up dress-up party: each woman blended some of the most paradoxical elements from her established notions of fashion without a care in the world. And each found an interesting and original way to amalgamate every seemingly antithetical element into her own unique composite, in the way she saw most aesthetically pleasing.
With that being said, it’s time to finally say à la vôtre to Paris Fashion Week 2013, and à la vôtre to the women who never cease to influence fashion’s every dimension by simply exercising her creative spirit and personal style.
