St Laurent wins Paris

Press, 6 February 1986, Page 12

St Laurent wins Paris

JOAN HARRISON

reports from Paris

that a composite picture of someone dressed Paris style would feature a short tight-fitting suit without a collar over a silk T-shirt.

If a St Laurent suit is called “The Marquise goes out at 5 o’clock” it willl also be what the girl who leaves her office at 5 o’clock will want to wear. For that is what St Laurent is all about — an uncanny perception for knowing how women want to look. 1

At this year’s Haute Couture spring showings St Laurent got a standing ovation for once more bringing all the ideas we had seen in the collection into perspective and in his own style. The clinging bodyline moulded to the figure in satin and silk was there but whereas Ungaro shirred it and Cardin niched it horizontally, Scherrer pleated it and

Dior belted it, St Laurent cut his fabric in two Vpoints back and front of the tight skirts so that his models could move with a hint of sexiness — no more. Pure white started off the Collection and then came a whole Impressionists’ palette of bright pastels. Ungaro’s were almost luminous. Bright pink seemed to emerge as a rival to the all-white and black and white outfits — but the pastels were clear and bold — nothing water-coloured ■about them.

To go with the fitted suits and dresses, St Laurent had his own hats, hard straw boaters slightly larger than usual and a|l with crowns of

lizard skin with matching lizard skin belts and shoes. The same idea was carried throughout the collection, dyed to match the dress or suit. Even the bride had a boater hat. To mark the difference that isbaute coutureSt

Laurent once , again showed without music so that there was nothing to distract attention from his models. He even brought back the idea of naming the outfits like “The Little Marquise at 5 o’clock” or the “I’m not what you think” for a superb black evening dress cut right down and scooped out at the back.

A composite picture of someone dressed Parisstyle for spring and summer would be in a short, tight-fitting suit without collar worn over a silk Tshirt or no blouse at all. She would also need to wear one large earring, long hair pulled back in a plait or ponytail and a large or largish hat.

It could be a picture ha. as at Ungaro, which while flattering didn’t go too well with the short skirts, or the rather more successful large white panamas at Dior, or the truncated top hats at Chanel. Lagerfield has really now completely restructured the Chanel Suit. It has a new broad-should-ered cut, the jacket so fitted that there is no longer room for the traditional silk blouse. The skirt, whether short or long is skin-tight round the derriere. The look is young, bouncy and easier to wear and for the evening romantic in cascades of lace and organza, sometimes spoilt with rows and rows of buttons down the back and sides. Shoes were all highheeled. They have to be with slinky body-fitting suits and dresses. Tights and stockings tended to be white. Copyright — London Observer Service.