Scene setting: the show was staged on the seventh and eighth floors of the offices once occupied by the Paris newspaper Libération. Dries Van Noten held his S/S 2018 show there last June just as the company had departed, leaving files lining the shelves and the carpet tiles still in place. Since then, the building has been stripped back. It provided a fitting backdrop to Lemaire’s brand of hard-core elegance. Unfinished walls were dotted in spots of chalky plaster; the floor was raw concrete. The mood typified the label, which is deadly serious yet playfully rich.
Mood board: Lemaire’s consistent, modest extravagance was there across the 40 looks. The show opened with a double-breasted chocolate brown wrap coat in curly wool, worn with a seamless merino sweater, heavy cotton chino and leather boots. What followed were a series of the perfect wide-leg cropped trousers. The perfect vegetable tan ankle boots; high-shine Chinese loafers worn with cable-knit socks. The perfect chesterfield coat in felted wool. Water-repellent cotton twill outerwear. Easy elasticated pants!
Best in show: the label’s signature wide shouldered, roomy tailoring was still here – this time double-breasted and worn with chino cut pants in heavy wool barathea. Fascinated with the timeless nature of clothing, Lemaire’s points of reference are diverse and notably not drawn from popular culture; there are no show notes full of significant art works, films or furniture given out at the show; you are handed a list detailing the fabrics of the clothes. You’re left with just a mood, a feeling. An utterly persuasive je ne sais quoi.
Lemaire A/W 2018
Lemaire A/W 2018
Lemaire A/W 2018
Lemaire A/W 2018
-
One to Watch: designer Valerie Name infuses contemporary objects and spaces with historical detailFrom vessels to furnishings and interiors, New York- and Athens-based designer Valerie Name finds new relevance for age-old craft techniques
-
Cora Sheibani celebrates unexpected diamond cuts in a new jewellery collectionCora Sheibani's latest collection, ‘Facets and Forms’, marries her love of history and science
-
Meet Kenia Almaraz Murillo, the artist rethinking weavingKenia Almaraz Murillo draws on the new and the traditional in her exhibition 'Andean Cosmovision' at London's Waddington Custot
-
Palace unites with Rapha to celebrate inaugural Tour de France FemmesMarking the first time women will compete in the historic cycling race since the late 1980s, this new collaboration sees Palace Skateboards and Rapha create uniforms for both on and off the bike – including an ‘outlandish’ pair of Crocs
-
Lemaire celebrates Joseph E Yoakum's ‘spiritual unfoldments’Works by Native American folk artist Joseph E Yoakum inspire a capsule collection by Lemaire and go on show during Paris Fashion Week; we speak to the label’s founders
-
Paris Fashion Week A/W 2022: Chanel to Miu MiuIn this extended report, Wallpaper* updates you live from Paris Fashion Week A/W 2022 shows, with rolling coverage as runway events unfold
-
Paris Fashion Week Men’s A/W 2022: Louis Vuitton to Loewe, Dior to HermèsIn this extended report, Laura Hawkins reveals 9 highlights from Paris Fashion Week Men's A/W 2022. Including: Virgil Abloh's final collection for Louis Vuitton; Rick Owen's riff on sleaze; elfin-inspired accessories; and a celebration of slouch and surrealism
-
Scene-stealing runway sets from S/S 2022 womenswear showsFrom giant roulette wheels to Olympic diving boards and multi-city synchronized extravaganzas – our pick of the best fashion show sets from S/S 2022 womenswear
-
Louis Vuitton A/W 2020 Paris Fashion Week Women's -
Chanel A/W 2020 Paris Fashion Week Women’s -
Y/Project A/W 2020 Paris Fashion Week Women's
