Chloe -- the house that invented ready-to-wear -- got almost ready-to-dance at Thursday’s installment of Paris Fashion Week as designer Gabriela Hearst developed disco fever, cracking open strobe lighting, colored 1970s disc motifs and retro hair.
Here are some highlights of spring-summer 2023 collections:
CHLOE’S PARED DOWN DISCO
Katie Holmes and other VIP guests fumbled to their block seating amid the house’s dim atmospheric lights, strewn champagne coupes and disco décor.
The scene ushered in a collection that while not exactly disco, was a very Hearst-for-Chloe version of it: pared- down and minimalist with occasional whooshes of dance floor.
The disc motif was used throughout. It appeared as cutouts on the side of a white sporty sheath dress, eyelets, or as blue, orange, white and black inserts on gowns worn by models with long gelled hair.
Oversized white tuxedos added a welcome menswear touch to the sporty aesthetic. But at times, despite the concept — or perhaps because of it -- the pared -own styles seemed to lack energy.
That being said, there were plenty of standout looks: Supermodel Gigi Hadid stole the show in a boho silver chainmail gown.
SHANG XIA’S PASTEL MINIMALISM
Shang Xia debuted at Paris Fashion Week a year ago to curiosity and growing anticipation as new designer Yang Li swept in with a popping minimalist aesthetic that garnered warm reviews.
The brand, created in 2010 by Hermes International with the grand ambition to be their first luxury brand rooted in Chinese culture, was originally well known for expensive tea sets and lacquered boxes, according to media at the time.
The razor-sharp silhouettes displayed during Thursday's show continued the minimalism and the successful formula. The spring collection was delivered in pastel colors and accessorized with chunky platform wedges. The decor’s stratified scenes of clouds and sky-scraping cityscapes provided a further fashion-forward, futuristic edge.
Plays on form and shapes -- like colored circular discs -- gave the 40 looks a contemplative mood which softened the effect that pure minimalism can sometimes hold.
