Paris Fashion Week on Tuesday unleashed its first day of stiletto- and
swagger-filled shows with a nod to young designers coming up to fill the
creative ranks. It was the French capital’s turn to reveal its women’s
2015-2016 autumn-winter collections after the shows in New York, London and
Milan.

The first day of the catwalk shows saw the first outing by brand Each x Other,
founded by thirtysomething Franco-Swedish duo Ilan Delouis and Jenny Mannerheim
and joined by new designer Masha Gard. Marine, black and cream dominated
their collection which drew inspiration
from men’s lines in tennis stripes, tailored pants and leather.

“We wanted to show that men’s clothes can be transformed into something else.
We give it an allure and elegance with femininity,” Delouis explained
backstage. The male side “is part of the code of Each x Other, it’s about
the mix, the blend — our logo is an X, which is the meeting of art,
fashion and music,” he added.

Previously, the brand showed its collections in the “Designers Apartment”, a
showroom organised by the fashion week’s organising body, the
Federation Francaise
de la Couture. The space, which will be open for six days from Friday,
promotes young stylists.

Paris focus on talent

Paris’s mayor, Anne Hidalgo, also sought to shine the spotlight on
upcoming talent
by visiting the Duperre School, one of the city’s premiere design institutions.
The state-run establishment each year trains 500 students in fashion,
textiles and graphic design.

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Hidalgo said Paris’ schools were standing up to the stiff competition posed by
better-funded rivals Central Saint Martins in London and Parsons in New York
because the French capital managed to “conserve the artistic trade
skills related
to the luxury sector, such as embroidery and tapestry”.

Responding to a question about New York investing 15 million euros (17 million
dollars) in the city’s fashion trade, she said: “If New York is investing
so much in fashion today, it’s because its artistic workshops have
disappeared.”

Paris, she added, had the good fortune to be home to tuition-free schools that
allow young students to learn “not according to their parents’ revenues, but
really by their own talent and drive”.

Hidalgo was accompanied by two graduates from the school, Bouchra Jarrar, who
now has her own fashion house of the same name, and Guillaume Lemiel, designer
for the brand The Kooples. Still, Hidalgo acknowledged, “Paris was kind of
slumbering a few years ago,
thinking it could live off its legacy as the capital of fashion”.

Milan, London and New York have “worked very, very hard with professionals, in
terms of communication, to build their fashion weeks up to a level
that concerned
us. “We are now not only fighting back but also understanding what our
strengths
are.” (Anne-Laure Mondesert, AFP)

Images: AFP Photos