The Butterfly Effect | Issue 16
London gave us romance. Milan delivered restraint.
Paris, so far, is about cut, precision, volume—and motion.
Cut Line
Nicolas Di Felice sent Courrèges down the runway strong and sharp. Fabric moved. It swung. Silhouettes formed clean columns—skirts, dresses, and trouser lines falling in straight, deliberate strokes that echoed the architectural mood seen in Milan.
The cut was precise. Waistlines dropped and exaggerated, structured before flaring from the hips. That same linear discipline appeared at the neckline: collars standing at attention, funnel-like but sharper, cleaner—almost Neo in their severity.
Skin played a role. High-cut slit skirts revealed flashes of leg, while athleisure-inspired trousers snapped open along the sides, left unfastened below the knee.
The fabrics carried the motion: slick satins, polished leathers, neoprene, and organza that draped and pulsed as the models moved.
The effect was modern and exacting, with an undercurrent of edge. For the finale, the runway turned white—each look reappearing in a monochrome echo of what had just walked in color. Stripped of distraction, the focus returned to what Di Felice does best: cut and movement.
His?
Right on point.
A Walk in the Park
Jonathan Anderson’s runway, Tuesday, was a sun-drenched promenade. Anderson punctuated the walk with volume, draping, and structure. At the beginning of his tenure at Dior, Anderson explained that he was building a language that would take several runways to define.
This show finished the lexicon. Anderson presented a cohesive, defined runway, elaborating on the design principles established in earlier collections.
Look 1 and 2—frothy ensembles of layered organza petal skirts, tails flaring behind them. Grounding the romance, peplum-style Bar jackets topped the skirts, refined and cropped under Anderson’s edit.
Anderson leaned heavily into the Bar jacket and the peplum—they reappeared in look after look. Look 7 featured a grey Bar jacket, in a soft textured, structured fabric, over a flaring beige-pink mini skirt. Both pieces architectural and standing at attention—reminiscent of the internal structures from his recent couture show.
In contrast to his more structural pieces, Anderson’s collection also featured soft draping—creating a tension that ran throughout the entire collection. Look 10: a soft, robe-like mohair dress that featured softer lapels framing a plunging V-shaped neckline, nipped slightly at the waist before flaring gently at the hips into a soft midi skirt.
Look 41: a show-stopping soft ivory cloud of tulle. It cinched at the waist, flared at the clavicle and below the knee, and was reminiscent of dresses shown at Paris couture.
Look 47, perhaps his most wearable, a black satin blazer, with strong lapels, tailored at the waist before flaring into a soft peplum layered with silk ribbon and paired with a wide-leg vintage-looking denim (my favorite) and a loden-green sequined bag. Chef’s kiss.
The only issue? The shoes. Anderson paired many of his mini skirts with high, strappy, embellished sandals or polka-dot, closed-toe pumps—diverting focus from the simplicity of the outfits.
But apart from that little misstep, Anderson achieved his goal: lexicon defined.
Gold star—or should I say, bar?
Tom Ford
Haider Ackermann’s Tom Ford cut like a knife.
Precise.
Simple.
No frills, no extra—save a rare embellishment or sequin, though restrained—Looks 54, 56, and 57—and an occasional polka dot—just razor-sharp tailoring and minimalism executed at the highest level.
The palette? Ivory and black reigned, punctuated with a small dose of red, blue, pink, green, and brown.
Look 1 set the stage. Ivory jacket, belted at the waist, sleeves and hem finished with a rickrack detail, leading the eye down to a simple ivory pencil skirt.
Look 4: an ivory blouse, also finished with a rickrack edge, cuffs turned and fastened with black cufflinks, a sheer lace mini skirt, and sheer black fishnets embellished a TF monogram. The styling was impeccable.
Pants were fluid and wider, low slung on the hips and detailed with a delicate belted strap crossing diagonally above the waist. Boots and shoes, sharp, pointed, black, and glossy.
Looks 18-26 punctuated by equally shiny PVC fabric, showing up in black-piped coats, skirts, and kerchiefs. Look 46: whiskered, cuffed boyfriend jeans casually draped in just the right way, a fitted herringbone jacket layered over a sheer crewneck, scrappy sandals completed the look.
Ackermann wielded the blade with discipline at Tom Ford.
Slice.
Paris, it seems, has found its edge.