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While Valentino explored new graphic territory, Chanel gained global ground at the supermarket and Lutz found an irresistible lightness of being at The Snake.

What a surprise at Valentino! A grey butterfly fluttered on the invitation, but the show, at least the first part, was all about graphics. The eye popping dots and stripes on sharp tailored coats, simple dresses, knits and leather capes and boots could have been supersized butterfly markings, but are in fact inspired by Rome’s Pop art scene in the 60s and 70s particularly artistis Carol Rama, Carla Accardi and Giosetta Fioroni. The bold patterns open up a whole new vibrancy for Valentino recalling the house’s Mod period. After that the collection fluttered off into a couture garden of dark florals, fantasy animals and butterfly clusters in prints, dense embroidery, lace, foiled metallics and plush fur with fantastic harlequin check leather to put all the incomparable workmanship of the house’s atelier in Rome on display.

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Fashion is both art and product. After last season’s art gallery, Chanel played supermarket sweep at the Grand Palais with aisles of rue Cambon packaged food and models doing what shoppers do: topping holey sweats with great hefty bag coats wearing trainers in advertising bright house tweeds.  This brings to mind Raf Simons’ spring collection for his eponymous brand patterned  with hard sell packaged food graphics, only here the idea was much more literal. In the midst of all this bright, brash branding, Karl Lagerfeld continued corseting Chanel suits and dresses, but he really scored with great tweed parkas, trainer boots and those big coats over leggings.

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Instead of a show, Lutz Huelle shot his look book at François Roche’s all-white Paris apartment called “The Snake” and invited a few guests to take a look at the work in progress. “I visited last season and I couldn’t stop thinking about it,” says Huelle. “When I started this collection I imagined what it would be like living in this perfect place where every detail was beautiful, where shuffling into the kitchen in the morning with a blanket thrown over your shoulders would be like a tableau.” Huelle describes what he does as “de-contextualization.” Working with silver shearling, Aran knits, doubleface wool/viscose and hand-dyed silk in this season’s “Space Flower” pattern Lutz constructs coats, capes and dresses from flat squares of fabric often with unfinished edges which are slit and layered like fragments.

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article : Rebecca Voight http://www.superfluparis.com/
Photos: Style.com