Paris Fashion Week: a closer look at three key shows

We unpick the references behind AW19’s statement fur pieces seen during Paris Fashion Week.

Rounding off the show season with strong fur looks, Paris took us down memory lane as designers looked to some of history’s coolest fur muses for their collections as well as vintage and historic silhouettes translated into fur.

 

Saint Laurent

Saint Laurent history photo black and white
Image source: Horst/Vogue/© Condé Nast

The look: Seventies-eighties power vixen who rules the boardroom and the nightclub.

The fur: Lots of fox, from a dyed black Silver Fox jacket to a series of fox scarves and an intarsia fox coat. Mink also made an appearance in black and white intarsia and with fox pom-poms for buttons.

The inspiration: Creative director Anthony Vaccarello looked to Saint Laurent’s muses and the legendary Spring 1971 Scandal collection’s forties wartime silhouettes, seen through a confident boss lady lens of today. The iconic green fox fur Scandal fur coat was echoed in a power-shouldered fox jacket fit for Bianca Jagger while house muse Betty Catroux’s love of fur was clearly felt too: her incredible 1968 wedding look – a black and white striped fox coat – was recreated in intarsia fox while her many leopard pieces made an appearance in the chic, long dyed fox scarves.

Saint Laurent paris fashion week looks

Read US Vogue’s report on the show here 

 

Thom Browne

Image source: getty image

The look: Eccentric executive realness for aristocratic women with private tailors on speed dial.

The fur: Fur trims were used throughout the collection on coat sleeves and hemlines, bringing a soft preciousness to the stern silhouettes. A standout piece was a checked trompe l’oeil coat with a dreamy Saga® Mutation Fox collar in a beautiful, almost pastel-like hue.

The inspiration: In an office setting taken from his guest show at Pitti ten years ago, Browne revisited his suiting codes and whimsically ‘shrunken’ tailoring. There were clear nods to the British sculptor and translator Lady Una Troubridge (1887-1963) and her mannish tailoring and lavish furs, with portraits of the socialite traced in pearls.

Thom Browne in Paris fashion week aw19

Read WWD’s report on the show here

Zuhair Murad

The look: Samurai warrior princess goes to the Upper East Side.

The fur: Glossy dyed black fox and black sheared mink were constructed into the softest, silkiest armour with shoulders built up and hips jutting out in a hint of peplum or with gold studs peeping through the strands of fox from underneath. A sheared mink and fox gilet was dyed a delicate blush pink with mink curlicues while a dyed red fox and mink cape had tonal studded leather inserts.

The inspiration: The onna-bugeisha, female warriors of the Japanese nobility, along with Art Deco and the sensual work of the Japanese artist and photographer Nobuyoshi Araki. Together Murad’s references made for a tough yet delicate meeting of structural breastplate garments colliding with ornate motifs.

Zuhair Murad fashion photos paris fashion week

Image source: wwd.com

Read US Vogue’s report on the show here

If you liked this article about AW19 fur trends during Paris Fashion Week, check also this article about other fur trends seen during AW19 fashion weeks.