The ’90s may be back in a big way, but that era has always been home base for Gauchere, where Marie-Christine Statz has been exploring “progressive minimalism” and turning out slightly unconventional yet reliably covetable pieces for exactly a decade now.
This season, the designer said she found inspiration in “that vibrant, fragmented kind of feeling” that seems to hover in the air these days. “I feel like we have these split realities between a digital existence and something that feels more Old World,” she said during an interview backstage before the show. “It’s like, how do you walk into a hurricane?”
A few different ways, as it turns out, and with the help of a new stylist. Using her signature tailoring as a baseline, Statz worked with torn, twisted, pleated, ruched and 3D details placed slightly off-kilter to turn conventionally minimalistic pieces—a tank shirt, a crop top, a shift— into something a tad edgier. Leather and leather-like effects were a strong point, whether in actual skin (a periwinkle trench; a spare, glossy jacket) or black coated cotton. She also went out of her way to show more flesh: wispy chiffon skirts catered to the naked dressing trend, as did short shorts slipped almost invisibly under long, boxy jackets. One of next season’s essentials is bound to be a black column dress, and here it came with a plunging back. Accessories-wise, twisted, pillow-shaped clutches and sunglasses by Ahlem took the brand into new territory.
While the overall effect felt a bit intense, there were plenty of pieces here that will get good mileage. Good thing there was just enough color—butter yellow, lavender, red—to remind us we’re talking about spring.
