Paris Fashion Week fall/winter 2019: Off-White, Loewe, Yohji Yamamoto and Celine

TWO MOST SURPRISING MOMENTS
1. Unlike last month’s ‘Public Television’ themed menswear show, we stepped onto an orange-grey checkerboard floor set design at Off-White’s ‘His & Hers’ women’s show, and no, it’s not the Louis Vuitton check (in case you are wondering if that’s Virgil Abloh’s take on his other commitment, or is it...?) Amongst the strong-shouldered tailoring and voluminous silhouette, Abloh entrusted his celebrity-status friends to add glamour and drama: Karlie Kloss swept us away with a canary-yellow dress (it’s actually a long train attached to a bodysuit), while Gigi and Bella Hadid closed the show with billowy leg-baring numbers.
2. A gripping suspension at Celine fall/winter 2019 show. When a mirror gyroscope box lit up in the middle of the runway and was suspended back and forth in tune with the starting music, it lit up to reveal a dressing room in the style of possibly the Eighties. The installation was both innovative (the notion of it) and redolent of history and tradition (the clothes). This season, Hedi Slimane seems to have reacted to the backlash of ‘old’ Celine jokes, he has gone back to the brand’s archives, wayyyy back to the old old Celine - the OG before Phoebe Philo and Michael Kors’ time at the brand. His statement has been made, he can do it if he wants.

FOUR TRENDIEST ACCESSORIES
1. A new Lantern opera bag featuring an internal light and mirror construction has been introduced at Loewe, it was inspired by opera bags of the past when women can't find their belongings in the dark while watching performances.

2. Inspired by mid-century millinery, Jonathan Anderson brought back a hat he found in San Francisco during a trip, and created a series of interesting headwear for this fall/winter 2019 collection.

3. Nothing says country more than Celine's horse-bit belt, nip the waist of the long flowy dresses to add definition.

4. Answering the prayers of old-school Céline fans, the classic ladylike Celine logo shoulder-bag is back.

SEVEN FAVOURITE LOOKS
1. Off-White fall/winter 2019 look #35: Abloh offered refined leather tailoring, such as long leather coats with matching shorts. It wouldn't take much to offer warmth if you are using the good hide.
2. Off-White fall/winter 2019 look #27: glamour and sexiness in Abloh’s approach to two-piece suiting come in the form of a cropped boxy-cut silver satin jacket with matching micro-shorts. Futuristic and relevant.
3. Loewe fall/winter 2019 look #20: provoking dense layers of opacity, smooth leather, satin, and sartorial fabrics intersect in striped or checkerboard kimono coats, as pin-tuck organza and organdie are fused with ribbed knitwear.
4. Loewe fall/winter 2019 look #35: hammered two-tone silk separates are plaited or bias cut, complementing the 360°construction of tailoring with slotted lapels and sloped pockets, inflated jeans, and bell sleeve jackets.
5. Yohji Yamamoto fall/winter 2019 look #15: cuss fingers. Sculpted fabric hands on the front and back of black wrapped-and-draped dresses had the (middle) finger-pointing. Well, dark poetic self-expression is trending, especially in the 75-year old designer’s somber collection.
6. Celine fall/winter 2019 look #56: Hedi Slimane can single-handedly bring back the trend of culottes (which may not be the most-flattering, unless you are a tall size zero). For us, it would be this gold sequin matching cardigan and culottes ‘suit’ look that’s so elegantly French and refreshing.
7. Celine fall/winter 2019 look #49: Classically country and somewhat polished, the revival of the House's '70s archives brought back pussy-bow blouses and dresses, horse-bit details, knee-high boots, and aviators. Add to that a touch of Hedi's rebellious sexy attitude, the new Celine woman is reborn.

All coverage from Paris Fashion Week fall/winter 2019.