Courrèges: explosive flashback

Courrèges, known for being the first and most famous of the French futuristic houses, seems more contemporary than ever, thanks to Nicolas di Felice’s touch of chic and shocking magic.

To add to this energy, the designer is a fantastic showman: he had built a pale gray quadrant for the season with string, before spurting out four walls of steam, so that his models seemed to emerge from the urban fog. A decor all the more surprising as it was located in a school of architecture, at the far end of the 5th arrondissement of Paris.

“My inspiration, in fact, was the telephone, and its constant presence in our lives”, explained Nicolas di Felice, whose first tops paraded while reading text messages on their mobile.

The fashion show opened with cocoon coats, hoodies and jackets in Courrèges’ emblematic leather, latex, checked wool and varnished plastic. Except that everything was cut with vertical slits, letting out the arms, while the sleeves hung down. A great sewing tip, very practical for sending text messages. These looks were often paired with stretch leather thigh high boots, reaching up to the groin.

The collection also marks a radical shift for Courrèges, which is turning its back on its favorite material, quilted plastic, in favor of more relaxed fabrics. Fresh wool, stretch or lighter leathers, “casual fabrics, fine stripes and the kind of materials you see in the metro”, underlined the designer.

To support the message, geometric circles are cut into cocktail dresses, tops and sleek sheaths, in leather. Yéyé singers in 2023. He also accessorizes regularly with circular jewelry, amulets fifteen centimeters in diameter or earrings that make ten, circles that also take up the house DNA.

“This revisited O is the emblem of our current community,” added Nicolas di Felice, with whom we chatted backstage after the show.

Then the collection gradually metamorphoses to an almost New Age finale, with leather and more drapes, superb semi-transparent tops, very elegant, added to long slit skirts with a train. A series of remarkably draped mini evening dresses, some of which displayed the brand name in large print, further testified to the designer’s great self-confidence at the top of his game.

Nostrils quivering and eyes wide open, the models clearly adored their outfits, for this collection was completely free of missteps or less successful pieces. All on a soundtrack starting with the sounds of voices during rush hour, and ending with a stunning remix of Backchat of Otherlover, while the models emerged one last time from the thick mist, under an immense clamor.

“Fog, but more like an urban smokescreen than a nightclub. So the audience feels very close for a moment, the whole scene appears, and then suddenly the girls vanish”, smiled Nicolas.

In fact, the outfits presented were close to that worn by the designer himself: skinny jeans, a hoodie and a leather jacket. In a word, it was such a successful collection that after the finale, we would have liked to see five or six more looks.