Fair Isle, but fashionable.
For its first fall collection, Duran Lantink opted for wool fabrics. The Dutch designer took ski clothing and shrank them into small vests and inflated them, using his signature foam padding to create underlying volume. Voluminous often implies waves and flow, but not this: Lantink volume is rigid and protective.
She's worked with “floating” bifurcated styles before, particularly her best-selling jeans, and this season she donned skirts. The construction looked sleek with thigh-high socks just below a sheer panel, while another version had more height. That's Lantink's bold style. He likes to play with exposition.
Other cues came from ski culture, mixed with streetwear and power dressing while pushing body proportions. Sculpted shoulders were pushed forward into a hump, distorting posture, while an extreme bust in a knit jumpsuit gave new meaning to the word bustier. There are notions of Rei Kawakubo and Lantink is working to establish his own codes.
“We are still finding out what Duran Lantink's DNA is. “We are trying to create a wardrobe that is also somewhat more wearable,” he said.
Ruby shorts with short puffer jackets, lots of fluff on boots and jackets, and low-rise pants topped with a padded, shrunken polo collar all fit together perfectly. The brand was acquired by Dover Street Market after last season. It's now in New York and Los Angeles and will launch in Paris in April.
Other looks included gold shorts with a C-3PO glitter paired with thigh-skimming socks and comfortable knitwear cut and puffed to create a spiral orbit around the body. It was all a bit otherworldly.
For more Paris Fashion Week reviews, click here.
