Local exoticism at Lanvin Lanvin went to shoot his fashion week video in Drôme, more precisely in the Ideal Palace of Postman Cheval, this incredible castle that seems to have come from a Ghibli studio film. It was built by Ferdinand Cheval, a dreamer factor and handyman at the turn of XX ^th  century and remains in France the best symbol of the naive architecture. To a song by the Cocteau Twins ( Cherry-Colored Funk), mannequins appear between two columns of pebbles or behind a statue of an otter; they wear blouses, scarves, tailored suits in pastel tones or crisp white. We find the essence of Parisian chic embellished with a dose of Hollywood glamor, a favorite cocktail of artistic director Bruno Sialelli for two seasons.

3D inventory at Undercover Among the most original ways of approaching this digital fashion week, let us quote Jun Takahashi and his confidential label, but nevertheless respected – even downright cult for a handful of insiders. In addition to a small video teaser, the Japanese posted an interactive lookbook: each of the 42 outfits in the collection has been immortalized in 3D; just click on one of them to be able to see it from all angles. Special mention to the deconstructed suit jackets with a safety pin, to the shirt-pants sets printed with flowers and statue heads and to the rather clever method.

Unbridled Western at Phipps Season after season, the American Spencer Phipps, founder of Phipps, plays with his country’s culture from Paris, where he lives. Considering the imposed exercise of the video this time, the opportunity is too good to make fun of modern westerns. The hero ? It is he, the creator, evolving in a setting of the Wild West (the shooting actually took place in Spain), according to a trailer pastiche. His imaginary film is titled Spirit of Freedom , and all the clichés are there: the glass in the saloon, the poker game, the castagne in the desert and the shocking voice-over phrases like “I was tired of fleeing”. And the clothes, will you tell us? A poncho embroidered with a galloping cowboy, jeans with a leather yoke in the style of rider’s trousers, a wolf-print shirt, another postcard-like, sunset atmosphere over the Rockies… To wear with pieces more sober. And a little second degree.

Pictorial dialogue at Dior For Dior, Kim Jones had planned a parade, he was finally content with a video report on the scenes of a collection in collaboration with the artist Amoako Boafo. In 2019, he was struck by an ‘artistic love at first sight’ for this Ghanaian painter trained in Vienna whom he met at the Rubell Museum in Miami, and who paints colorful portraits, exploring and celebrating the different perceptions of the black identity. On his paintings, backgrounds filled with bright colors or patterns contrast with the dark faces, a tangle of dark paint applied with the fingers.

In his collection, the English designer transposes the paintings literally or metaphorically with haute couture techniques. The silhouettes are illuminated by neon yellow, blue and coral, the prints evoke the graphic patterns of Amoako Boafo. The fabrics reproduce the complex structure of the paintings by superimposing prints, knits and patterns.

Everywhere, we find the trademark of Kim Jones at Dior: a sumptuous tailoring (leather and fur coat, puffy silk jacket closed with a bow) and diverted classic pieces (like these multicolored tuxedo belts) that oppose the streetwear influences (the pearl gray parka) and apparently unglamorous elements (such as sandals worn with socks). With, in addition, a few bags with undeniable commercial potential. No doubt, Kim Jones is in control.

In praise of simplicity at Lemaire A crossover of models (men and women) in a white space, such is the purist form chosen by the Parisian label. The collection is in line with what one might expect: oversized volumes, floating fabrics, neutral colors. The women’s locker room includes soft dresses, tight coats and flared skirts; that of men, jackets and checkered shirt-pants sets. And the one they can share? Supernaturally light trench coats, flared pleated pants, pocket shirts and nonchalant suit jackets, but still outfitted.

Homo-eroticism in Ludovic de Saint Sernin’s Imagine a summer tale… An ephebe in white laced underpants soars into a limpid sea and notices that his alter ego in navy blue laced underpants is watching him from the abandoned beach. Love at first sight and frolics in the water. The plane of the briefs hanging together on a branch is a relatively clear ellipse. To tell the truth, apart from an azure-blue cotton shirt and shorts, no other item of clothing appears in this holiday reverie, whose title is a question: “Do you love me?” “ And the answer is rather yes.

Olympic clip at Thom Browne The award for the most puzzling video of the day goes to the American creator. Its parades are always the promise of a somewhat azimuth show; However, this time, the decorum is surprisingly wise: the video is a kind of black and white clip showing the musician Moses Sumney singing shirtless, in a long skirt crossed with two stripes. What else ? Nothing at all. We simply discover, after four minutes of filming, that Moses Sumney is standing on a pedestal, his muscular body resembling that of an ancient statue.

The collection, inspired by the Olympic Games of 1924 and 1936 (that’s precise), is an ode to sport and to grace, according to what the house says – that we take at our word for it, because the skirt mentioned above is all that we will have seen. But, on this last day of digital fashion week, after watching 67 video experiments of all kinds, we can say that clothes have not always played the leading role on the screen …