Martin Grant had taken a pause from runway shows for a few seasons. Today, in the gilded salons of the Shangri-La Hotel, the former residence of Napoleon Bonaparte s grandnephew, he seemed keen to show off a somewhat younger positioning. As noticeable clues, he alternated tiny waists and deep-V necklines throughout the collection, while never altering the level of sophistication that keeps women like Lee Radziwill (who was in attendance) coming back.
A shift in fabric focus gave Grant more room to play; he opened the show with an inky blue trench in PVC-coated chiffon, whose suppleness he liked so much that he recast it elsewhere as a blouse and skirt. When Grant worked both sides of a polka-dot jacquard, he ended up with a lively pattern contrast. Further on, he aimed toward head-turning impact with looks in allover gold Lurex and a patterned grouping borrowed from Greek embroidery and printed onto both heavy silk and linen. If a strapless teacup dress over a crisp, darkly dyed pair of denim pants seemed déjà-vu Dior, it also captured how Grant reached his youthful goal via chic juxtaposition rather than uncharacteristic digression. But it s worth dwelling on the jumpsuits, which he proposed in the aforementioned Lurex knit as well as a billowy navy chiffon that he belted in the front. This look, along with several others, definitely deserved an audience.
