Eymeric François’ eagerly-awaited show on July 9 brought Paris haute couture week to a fitting close. The show took place in the nave of the Palais Brongniart on the Place de la Bourse, almost following on from Zvonko Markovic’s show, which preceded it by barely fifteen minutes. But Monsieur François was clearly confident enough to go straight after the Serbian designer, for he had meticulously orchestrated a veritable procession for an awake but surprised public. Like a classical opera, the show was composed of three acts, each with its own dramatic quota.
The first act lived up to all our expectations, unveiling the new ‘Noir Désirs’ Winter 2015-2016 collection. The signature of this collection is its composition of bi-chrome dresses and ensembles: Black is continually mixed with color. At first, cadmium yellow was timidly added to a black ensemble in the form of accessories: glove, belt, feathers. Gradually, it became an integral part of a dress, taking over from the darkness. This pattern was repeated with a slightly fluoridated turquoise, then a royal blue tending towards the electricity of Klein blue, to end with a mauve gradient stretching to orange via red.
The color duos are full of freedom and spirit, because as the collection’s name suggests, it’s all about the deep black that stirs up summer color. An impertinent choice for a winter collection. Nevertheless, the materials chosen (velvet, silk, fine chiffon) and the volumes (imperious and ample) don’t betray the spirit of the season. The waist is always marked at the waistband, and the neckline and décolleté are always highlighted, either by being uncovered or by being impregnated with a collar or ribbon. In this way, the simplicity of the two-tone gives way to a sophisticated stylization and a feminine silhouette worked down to the smallest detail. Eymeric François remains true to himself and his vision of the woman, while imposing a rediscovery of the use of color.
The second act was marked by both suspense and surprise, with an unexpected performance of a requiem from the 2010 Salle Pleyel opera couture. The baroque-like lyric artist was adorned in a black leopard bocard coat, a gown of silk taffeta and ostrich feathers, a large black horsehair gown and a laced aluminum bustier, and finally a gown tattooed with black and purple passementerie. Each ‘layer’ was revealed by two male escorts who gradually ‘stripped’ her of each ornament. This intermission merely heralded the immoderation of what was to come.
The third act, the longest and most impressive, featured a retrospective of a selection of 34 of the designer’s finest pieces, including the famous wedding dress with white tulle leather belts. The ensemble demonstrates the timelessness of the pieces, as it’s impossible to know for sure whether they come from the past or the future. At times, it’s as if we’re on the Deauville stage in the Belle Epoque, at others in a futuristic opera that goes beyond Luc Besson’s The Fifth Element. The whole thing remains fundamentally innovative, spectacular, but above all dramatic, as it leaves a deeply disarming and moving impression.
Photo credits: Pierre Sénard
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