Perched side-saddle on a old-fashioned merry-go-round, Louis Vuitton’s belles for next spring came wrapped in broderie anglaise in soothing tones of cupcake or candyfloss, as Paris’ nine-day fashion marathon drew to a close on Wednesday. Marc Jacobs – one of the world’s most talked-about designers since he was tipped to succeed the disgraced John Galliano at Christian Dior – was in the spotlight as he unveiled what may be his swansong at Vuitton in the courtyard of the Louvre Museum.
Broderie anglaise, a type of embroidery with little eyelets edged in buttonhole stitches, was the keystone of the look, with innocent-looking outsized flowers adorning buttoned-up collars, blouses, skirts and dresses. Baby blues and pinks, soft yellows and greens defined the look, alongside a small handful of tone-on-tone greys, blacks or navies, where bright white underskirts peeped through the flower-shaped holes. The merry-go-round itself was “a metaphor for fashion,” how it endlessly recycles and renews itself.
Pretty, gentle-cut skirts, some overlaid with a tone-on-tone sheer veil, fell just the right side of prim, swelling gently out from the waist, skimming the curve of the hip before stopping at the knee or just below. And for the fairytale finale, in a creamy ivory bubble dress cut high on the thigh, there was Kate Moss in a shimmer of fluffy white feathers, the icing on Vuitton’s cake.
