A.P.C. s Jean Touitou doesn t lack for opinions. His Paris presentations are must-sees for the frank way in which he rails against the fashion system and current trends. People grab a coffee, plop themselves down on the couch, and settle in for some real talk, not to mention, of course, a chance to see the label s new clothes. Today, Touitou had two big gripes. To begin, designers are showing couture, not ready-to-wear. "Fashion is not only about celebrity and finance," he said, alluding to the big production shows for which Paris is famous and the front-row types whom they attract. "It s also about proportion and styling." His second point was about his distaste for extreme sexiness. "To be dressed, you don t need to be high in the sky in heels," he continued. "My whole purpose is to sex down things."
Put those ideas together and you ll get a pretty good picture of what A.P.C. has on tap for Spring. Dresses in chambray, denim, or broderie anglaise-trimmed white linen fell in A-line shapes to the mid-thigh, and there were shirtwaist styles in microprints. None were un-sexy, but they weren t obviously come-hither, either. A quartet of jumpsuits followed. Touitou called them "an obsession" on his part and that of his customers. The best came in a nice shade of cargo green. And for the beach, or those moments when you re returning home and don t want to kill your weekend buzz: easy separates like high-waisted shorts or a popover top with djellaba detailing from A.P.C. s ongoing partnership with Vanessa Seward. All of it came out on flat vegetable-dyed leather sandals or very manageable heels. Touitou practices what he preaches. He also managed to deliver the feel-good moment of the week when three young kids danced out in pieces from a new A.P.C. collaboration with Bon-Ton.
