If there’s a reassuringly late ’80s/early ’00s feel to the Isabel Marant pre-fall collection, it’s not just that “I haven’t really changed, anyway,” as the designer allowed during a visit to her showroom. It’s because this lookbook shows signature shapes and silhouettes back in the hands of her longtime friend and collaborator Emmanuelle Alt.
“We get each other, and we’re very complementary,” Marant offered. “Emmanuelle has always known how to bring out the sexy-cool attitude that is the brand’s DNA, so working with her again was the obvious, very natural choice.”
Shoulders and legs being Marant’s favorite sartorial talking points, she and her artistic director, Kim Bekker, set about revisiting the layering and attitude of the early days while also leaning in on ideas about empowerment and sophistication. The result is a cross-pollination of boyish cuts, strong shoulders and baggy trousers with minis, statement jewelry, and slouchy ankle boots, this season with a short, cylindrical kitten heel.
Warm tones, abstract prints, quilting, and materials like a fuchsia panne velvet catch the light and play up texture: Glossy leather pairs variously with a preppy shirt, a cable knit, a shearling gilet, or silver trousers, for example. Classic aviators and a slouchy hobo bag round out the mix.
“The idea is not to have too many clothes, but not to be boring or cutesy, it has to be comfortable and easy,” the designer offered. Marant is coming up on her 30th anniversary in the business. Even if she’s not sure what she’ll do about that milestone just yet, that kind of longevity is worth celebrating. In the meantime, much of this collection will resonate with French-girl-style diehards wherever
they may be.
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