Your eyes are not deceiving you—there is a 1980s energy in the air. At Co, Stephanie Danan cited the films of Adrian Lyne, who directed 9 ½ Weeks, starring Kim Basinger, along with David Lynch and Isabella Rossellini as the reasons behind the season’s moody vibe. You only need to take one look at the leopard print—make that pony-leopard-print pieces—to sense the new lavish direction. Especially the pencil skirt worn with a gold-brushed velvet blouse with a tie around the neck and topped off with a matching pony-leopard trench coat. Joining the gold-brushed velvet was a crinkly gold fabric that Danan “wasn’t even sure how to describe” but which she used on a short-sleeve tunic and matching midi-length skirt. Many of the silhouettes were old-fashioned, and maybe even slightly uncool, but therein lies their charm.
There’s no way around the fact that Look 19, with its sensible coat and knitwear separates worn with loafers, brought to mind those old women you sometimes see on the street or at the market looking so chic in the same outfit they’ve probably worn for 40 or 50 years. Danan agreed. “When we did this look, we were like, ‘Oh, my God, it’s la concierge!’” she said, laughing. “Here in France, they’re the women who take care of the building, who’ve been living there for years, and they’re very gossipy and somehow always look like they’re dressed in weird Prada for some reason.”
Danan left behind her oversized silhouette and playful styling and traded it for something more straightforward that managed to convey a certain kind of eccentricity—and not just because one model sometimes looked a little like Yves Saint Laurent (the man), and the other bore more than a passing resemblance to Danan herself. A floor-length plaid toggle coat worn over a cashmere “sweatsuit,” felted-wool button-down shirts worn with matching trousers, a nutty ruffled black dress with an uneven hem worn with Danan’s mother’s pearls—everything felt so off that it was back on, either because it was so prim, so femme, or even so masc. Last season, the designer expressed a desire to step away from “quiet luxury and the clichés of all that.” Her take on more-is-more felt just right.
