COURRÈGES SS23
Out of all the sets this fashion week, I would argue Courrèges takes the cake. Visual artist and stage director, Theo Mercier is the brain behind the spectacular circular runway covered in sand. The show started out with models walking with a bit of sand falling from the ceiling like an hourglass. As the mound of sand in the center grew bigger and heavier, the floor eventually collapsed in the center like an hourglass feeding into another hourglass beneath it. The soundtrack reflected this theme with a vocal sample repeating over and over again, “We start again, we start again, we start again.” Fashion designers have been allured by the idea of rebirth, especially with the rapacious public demand to produce a runway show and collection every six months. It can feel like a relentless cycle of birth and rebirth.
This was not some comment on climate erosion—or the passage of time—but a homage to mornings after parties on the beach. Nicolas Di Felice’s upward trajectory at Courrèges comes down to talent and training—and his raves. Ever since his takeover of the heritage brand in 2020, he has made it his modus operandi to make clothes for good-time girls, hosting raves alongside his fashion week appearances and New York store openings.
Di Felice knows how young people want to dress in those situations: in body-con separates and dresses that reveal as much as they conceal.
Models walked with stilettos in hand, their tank tops and slip dresses bleeding sunset degradés, jackets lugged over their shoulders or wrapped around their waists with an air of easy, breezy insouciance. House staples, like modish jackets, were shrunken into the 21st century, while leather shift dresses zipped down the front, and future-metallic fabrics were fashioned into swimsuits.
Craftsmanship melded with technology — injection molding, three-dimensional resin printing, and scuba fabrics are sculpted and shaped using couture-drawn techniques. The spiky resin cream vest in look one is a fresh take on the traditional white tank beach cover-up. The coral reference in the texture brings the vest silhouette to life, perfectly complimenting the seashell ear cuff.
The appearance of a vinyl look in the fifth image above is nothing out of the ordinary. We have seen designers play with this material time and time again, yet Nicolas Di Felice has found a way to bring movement and effortlessness to the stiff and structured material. In the context of the show theme, it just works! The model is fully dressed and fully unveiled at the same time.
Looks one and five above represent the dialogue between Courrèges’ archetypal shapes, materializations, and new experiments. It is a rapport that challenges our perception of pieces drawn from the past.
The collection featured a muted color scheme, focusing on black, cream, light coral, and light-wash denim. Balance is a key element of this show as the Creative Director mastered the dichotomy between the use of old and new materials. Look four above is a creative twist on a classic denim jacket and skirt set, featuring asymmetric zippers, untraditional cutouts, and emphasized cuffs.
The fourth look above reveals that Di Felice looks beyond the obvious at Courrèges. He dug a vintage scuba jacket out of the archive and used its ergonomic lines to inspire a leather motorcycle coat. He has successfully broken free of the starchy mod shapes that are so closely linked with the house's history.
Top model, Mona Tougaard closes the show in a beautifully elegant black dress. She is one with the waves! Focusing on movement, the naiad dress silhouette is free-flowing when draped around the body. The high slit is perfectly balanced with the longline drapery of the rest of the garment. Chef’s kiss!
Cut-outs were prominent accents of the pieces across the collection to continue the scuba-beach theme. The gabardine and vinyl combined with denim and leather represent a neo-heritage, the precise with the raw.
