Dries Van Noten and Casablanca

A sunny Wednesday afternoon at Paris Fashion Week could be profitably spent on two shows: Dries Van Noten and Casablanca, where the common thread was the euphoria of the mixture of materials, tones and unlikely moods.

Dries Van Noten: Mix and match

Mix and match masterfully at Dries Van Noten, whose ability to combine distant fabrics, colors and textures created an elegant collection that is sure to please thousands of women.

A collection that Van Noten admitted after the show that she was editing until the last minute while combining metallic jacquards, sheer lycra, wool mop bags, clustered sequins and dense wool tailoring. In the hands of a lesser designer, this would have been a disaster, but Dries made it all work, and how.

“A woman who dares to cut her bangs,” laughed Van Noten, half of whose cast had hair on their foreheads.

It dries with volume throughout, but the big news was the unexpected combinations of multiple lengths and materials: pairing sweatshirts with flesh-colored materials; or pair fully embroidered jackets with a men's shirt underneath. The same goes for the color scheme: super intense metallics, stretch-based lace, fluffy duchess, either royal or polyester, depending on how they might take the color.

From an elegant pink knitted mohair evening coat to a stunning satin polyester trench coat in descending colors of electric blue, hot pink and mud brown.

“It's a matter of trial and error, but the key is that each piece has to stand on its own,” added the Belgian designer to explain the editing process.

“A bold woman; She is considerate and takes the time to do things for herself. Very talented, very strong. She wants to be loved and she decides herself. And she decides what she is day, night and night, combining them all the way she wants,” she insisted.

All in all, an impressive show and a surprising location inside a disused department store on Haussmann Boulevard, marred only by a stupid soundtrack that sounded like Shade was trying to sing, but kept getting shut down.

Indeed, the acquisition of Van Noten in 2018 was the icing on the cake of a campaign of fashion acquisitions by the Puig Group. They control a group of brands such as Carolina Herrera, Rabanne, Jean-Paul Gaultier and Rochas.

You can always tell a successful program by the client's mood. In this case José Manuel Albesa, who returned radiant to the backstage.

“What a great show,” said enthusiastic Albesa, who is also president of Puig Belleza y Moda.

Casablanca: Greco Magna in the northern Mediterranean

In a completely different mood, Casablanca looked to Ancient Greece in its latest collection, a mix of antiquity and party style, presented with great pomp inside the Cirque d'Hiver.

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“I wanted to show that there is a natural connection between Greek myths and modern France,” said Casablanca founder Charaf Tajer.

Unlike most shows, which begin with daywear and end at night, Charaf began with an all-white, form-fitting cocktail that revealed acres of legs and pants where a label wrapped like a shawl around the torso. Seen in sparkling white or sinful red, always ready to party.

Titled 'Venus as a Boy', after Bjork's classic song, the show was performed before several dozen Murmuration mime dancers, choreographed by Sadeck Berrabah. Adding a sense of theater to the show.

Charaf's great idea was to combine the myth of the city of Eleusis and its annual religious festival; People such as Plato, Sophocles, Aristotle and Herodotus are said to have attended the rite. At a mixed show, a guy in a green gradient mohair cape even carried a Grecian urn.

A collection that includes many active sports items, from lycra running shirts with Hellenic zodiac signs and swimmer caps to baseball jackets with Olympic torches and ski goggles.

Seasoned guests couldn't help but murmur the word Versace at times, with all the Greek writing, friezes and tight styling on display. But it must be recognized that Charaf gives everything his own touch: a vision of cheerful, sporty and multicolored fashion that has made his brand one of the most popular in France. Call it Mediterranean blend or Dedalus center.