At the former home of Marie Antoinette, the twenty-first century queens of excess and extravagance gathered for Parisian designer Jacquemus’ latest offering.
Let them ride boats, he might well have said, as A-listers lead by Victoria and David Beckham, Monica Bellucci and Eva Longoria erected cream parasols and docked up along the banks of the Palace of Versailles’ lake (with the help of production, who swam around in wetsuits) to watch the ‘Le Chouchou’ (a.k.a ‘scrunchy’) collection strut down the banks.
And, like the style of hair band it was named after, poofy looks underpinned the offering. In a nod to Princess Diana, Kendall Jenner appeared in a strapless white leotard with puff-top and necklace reminiscent of the late royal’s pearl and sapphire choker, famously worn with her black ‘revenge dress’ in 1994, amongst its other outings.
The influence of ballet, which has swept fashion houses’ moodboards in recent seasons, was overt too; ballet pump heels (similar to those produced by Miu Miu) were worn with tutus for boys and girls alike, while leg warmers were swapped for white lace stockings.
Sheer lacework was, in fact, a constant; worn by Gigi Hadid as a see-through mini dress, tied with bows over ivory underwear, and by other models as revealing, bralette-gowns and vests for men. Darker notes came in the form of rotund silhouette, black leather overcoats, cut-out black tailoring (a nod, perhaps, to the backless suit Jacquemus made for Bad Bunny’s appearance at this year’s Met Gala) and a blood-red, oversized knit sweater.
But the finale was made for the new generation fashion rulers: tricolour blue, white and red, block coloured naked dresses fastened at the front, billowed in the wind, and were worn with pannier-silhouette panties; a subtle nod to 18th century styles once worn on the grounds.
For other designers, the temptation to delve deeper into the ancient regime’s wardrobes — huge crinolines, towering wigs, hours of silver threaded embroridery — for inspiration might have been overwhelming. But 14 years after founding his label, Jacquemus evidently knows the skimpy law his It-girls abide by: less is always more.
