Anna October RTW Spring 2023
For her Paris debut, Anna October wanted to take everyone to the plot re- wild that she calls "pleasure garden" in her spring collection.
The set, in the former workshop of Eiffel Tower designer Gustave Eiffel, looked set for a picnic, with a tent made of lace and vintage sheets, a swing hanging from a beam and lots of fresh flowers.
But this is not a romantic fantasy and women today are not delicate creatures. October has 12 years of experience producing indulgent, spirited clothing to help women feel good and empower themselves by shattering the clichés about sexuality.
And making sure those parts feel as good as they look doesn't let no license to be basic or space to take shortcuts in design.
Exhibit A: beautiful trompe l'oeil pants that looked like they were zipped up by thin bra straps and had slipped off just like that, exposing the unspeakable silky waistband.
Cue a collection of 30 lingerie-inspired bodycon dresses, almost demure partings and the odd cape dramatic, hewn from unsold luxury materials. The craftsmanship, especially the crocheted items produced by a group the designer jokingly referred to as the "mafia babushka" (a cooperative of older women carrying on textile traditions and working for major European fashion houses) gave an air of poignant nostalgia to these pieces.
It was perfect, and looking at its source, you would never guess that between its garden and this Parisian presentation, there is a war raging in his native country. Further proof that, like the women she draws for, October is more steel magnolia than wallflower.
For her Paris debut, Anna October wanted to take everyone to the plot re- wild that she calls "pleasure garden" in her spring collection.
The set, in the former workshop of Eiffel Tower designer Gustave Eiffel, looked set for a picnic, with a tent made of lace and vintage sheets, a swing hanging from a beam and lots of fresh flowers.
But this is not a romantic fantasy and women today are not delicate creatures. October has 12 years of experience producing indulgent, spirited clothing to help women feel good and empower themselves by shattering the clichés about sexuality.
And making sure those parts feel as good as they look doesn't let no license to be basic or space to take shortcuts in design.
Exhibit A: beautiful trompe l'oeil pants that looked like they were zipped up by thin bra straps and had slipped off just like that, exposing the unspeakable silky waistband.
Cue a collection of 30 lingerie-inspired bodycon dresses, almost demure partings and the odd cape dramatic, hewn from unsold luxury materials. The craftsmanship, especially the crocheted items produced by a group the designer jokingly referred to as the "mafia babushka" (a cooperative of older women carrying on textile traditions and working for major European fashion houses) gave an air of poignant nostalgia to these pieces.
It was perfect, and looking at its source, you would never guess that between its garden and this Parisian presentation, there is a war raging in his native country. Further proof that, like the women she draws for, October is more steel magnolia than wallflower.
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