BALENCIAGA FALL WINTER 2019 COLLECTION – PARIS FASHION WEEK

In a wardrobe that mixes casual with evening, the real Parisian of today becomes an emblem. Volume, cut, and material represent the inventiveness and tenacity of a typical city local. Patterns and shapes emblemize common daily activities — grocery shopping, commuting via motorbike, and going out after work.

Suspended shapes allow for shoulders to be shifted upwards or for sleeves to be raised above the shoulders. Incognito collars and hoods on coats, long trenches and robes assume anonymity. Dropped or ring-shaped necklines that rest away from the body also redefine the profile.

Hidden or eliminated closures reflect the Parisian trait of opting to wrap a coat and leave a jacket open. Certain dresses, on the other hand, have many closures, modeled after a double-breasted jacket or trench coat worn with nothing underneath.

Atypical materials, too, represent resourceful intentions. A modern interpretation of the cocoon is made with fake shearling, another with a soft, duvet-like outer. Knee-length kick skirts are made with embroidered tweed and fake leather and insignia shirt are actually knitwear. Jackets rework the articulation of biker sleeves for the purpose of volume. Pants are either cropped or left extra long.

Easy Eveningwear encompasses the idea of wearing something all night after a long day, while At-home Outerwear imagines wearing something all day after a long night. Garments and accessories take the idea of house wear outdoors — a kimono-like robe — or they bring oversaturated symbols of tourism to a more intimate level.

Party dressing introduces still more silhouettes. A new evening set consists of a maxi kaftan shirt and maxi kick skirt in moire silk. A new babydoll dress deconstructs a longer style, reattaching the lower half to the bust line and tagging it with the graffiti that happens to someone who fell asleep at a party. A hand- sewn gown is beaded with curled paillettes, falling delicately around the wearer and continuing into a train.

Throughout the collection, new logotypes intersect with older ones, adding to a growing language. Bags and shoes flare and arch in new directions, balancing between dramatic tension and practicality.