Life’s a Beach At Paris Fashion Week

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It’s not uncommon for a fashion designer to lament the never ending cycle of fashion—and who could blame them? With many of them responsible for six collections each year, well, it’s stressful just thinking about the output.

So while the top fashion creatives toiled away in their ateliers for the past few months, it’s clear where their mind was for Spring/Summer 2019: at the beach. Aside from the obvious decree that a collection for the warmer seasons will be made for days at the shore, a closer look at this season’s ranges produced an obvious yearning for a dip in the Mediterranean, the Atlantic, or really any crystal clear body of water. The one tell-tale sign of that? The proliferation of seashells on the Parisian runways.

Truly, you couldn’t swing a spindly stiletto at Altuzarra without hitting a seashell—mostly because said shoe was decorated with an oceanic discovery of some sort. Joseph Altuzarra really committed his collection to the laidback feeling of a European vacation by the sea, one that offers a reminder to seriously relax at every chance it can.

That’s why shells were dangled off of rope belts and incorporated into a crochet coverup that worked over a retro swimsuit and a slinky knit dress, alike. They were also woven into crochet handbags with an espadrille-style bottom, that just so happened to be stuffed with enough beach reads to keep you occupied for a few days under the Mediterranean sun.

As if that wasn’t enough over seaside reference, Altuzarra also fashioned them into fine jewelry. Sumptuous gold earrings were spun in the likeness of seashells, from which dangled a long pearl; the same earring was also created in the opposite combination, with a pearl shell and a piece of dangling gold.

Within Simon Porte Jacquemus’ fantasy of the Italian seaside, clothing was minimal and accoutrement was even more so (save for those jumbo straw bags). However, the French wunderkind did embellish the first look, a swingy summer dress modeled by Imaan Hammam, with teeny shell-like beads. And he also polished of an otherwise simple heel with his take on the seashells seen in Disney movies. In a seafoam green hue with the perfect spiral, it was, indeed, a fantasy sandal.

Anthony Vaccarello’s takeover alongside the Eiffel Tower was also an absolute reverie. Though his lineup of sultry, barely there threads might not have been entirely beach adjacent, he did create a man-made waterfront before Paris’ most famous monument.

The Chanel show, however, was ripe with overt seaside references, which comes as little surprise when you consider Karl Lagerfeld created an actual beach—waves included—within the walls of the Grand Palais. That meant prints of beach umbrellas, the brand’s classic quilted bag envisioned in terrycloth, and even a super casual tweedy coverup. But there were some more subtle nods to the seaside theme, in the form of double-C encrusted sand dollars, that dangled off of layered chain necklaces, blingy bracelets, low-slung belts, and dangling earrings alike.

In what might be Lagerfeld’s kitschiest move, he also presented a compact evening bag in the shape of an ivory scallop shell. It’s bound to be a vacation must-have next summer.

However, he was hardly the only designer to turn a crustacean into a clutch. At Stella McCartney, the notoriously vegan designer sent a golden mussel down the runway. Now that’s the definition of a statement piece.

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createdAt:Fri, 05 Oct 2018 13:48:36 +0000
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