Marie-Christine Statz wanted to focus on the essentials with her fall collection, reflecting her feelings of uncertainty about the world — even before the events of the past week began to unfold.
Her darker color palette and structured silhouettes played into the mood well, and blurred, blown-up photo prints injected vivid touches of color while summing up the lack of clarity she was feeling.
Despite the mood, Statz proved her razor-sharp vision once more, zooming in on the architectural looks she has built her brand on.
Her boxy, oversize suits and coats had exaggerated shoulders, their sleeves wide and covering the hands, while the ultra-high waists of her pants were enhanced by tucking details. Straight-lined leather silhouettes came by way of seam-fronted pants, outsized shirts and patent separates.
Dresses were cap-sleeved and cut on the bias, strict yet sexy, or crafted from barely there sand-colored silk draped across the front of the body, held in place with a falsely casual feel by thin strapping details across bare backs.
For a sense of comfort — but no less control — there were fluffy black recycled knit pieces reprising the silhouettes of the more tailored looks, or a cosy chenille hoodie dress in navy. The hipster jeans, with side zips or cutouts on the hips, warrant a special mention in a more streetwise register.
It was on the street that Statz staged her show — under the arcades of the Rue de Rivoli, just downstairs from her label’s headquarters on a slightly grubby stretch of the tourist thoroughfare — with passersby watching. It was a desire to be outdoors again and celebrate the city that drove the staging, which involved a lot of back-and-forths with Paris’ City Hall, she said.