Nicolas Di Felice’s fall collection for Courrèges was all smoke and mirrors. The smoke was pumped from vents in the floor of the venue, a white box in tune with the label’s Space Age roots, while the show invitation was a mirrored disc that turned out to be a teaser for this circle-centric lineup.
The label has been gaining traction under Di Felice’s stewardship, and you could feel it in this season’s more headline-grabbing approach. There was Emily Ratajkowski on the runway; Julia Fox, Tyga, Avril Lavigne and Lisa Rinna in the front row; and dresses and tops emblazoned with giant Courrèges logos.
One of them ran the length of a black column gown, the letter “o” carved out and replaced with a giant mirrored pendant — a leitmotif that recurred on monochrome A-line dresses, tailored coats, crop tops and leather jackets that featured either scooped necklines or cutouts where the piece of jewelry sat.
“I love a circle: it’s really Courrèges,” the designer said backstage. “There is no beginning and no end.” While no doubt eye-catching on the runway, it did beg the question of how the outfits would look minus the clunky hardware.
There were plenty more pragmatic options on offer, not least a plethora of outerwear. Di Felice used tilted sleeves as decoration on mannish overcoats, biker jackets and hoodies, with models poking their arms through side slits instead. The cut was designed to accentuate the curved posture of people absorbed with their phones, a point he underlined by having some models carry theirs on the runway.
Gradually, these screen-obsessed city dwellers gave way to a partygoing crowd in sheer maxi sheaths with quirky cutouts at the navel, and skin-baring jersey tops and dresses draped from silver hoops.
For the silvery finale looks, the mirrored pendants were placed over the solar plexus, reflecting the beam of a single spotlight. “The collection is from the light of the screen to your inner light,” Di Felice said.
The designer has made festive community a central theme of his tenure at Courrèges, a strategy that has drawn a loyal following of celebrities including Dua Lipa, Rosalía and Bella Hadid. So far, that approach has been backed by a focus on product, which the brand will hopefully keep up even as it seeks to tap a wider audience.
