"I'm thinking of a new beginning," Andreas Kronthaler wrote in the show notes for his Spring/Summer 22 collection for Vivienne Westwood's eponymous line, "but in order to make that happen, you have to make room for it." Indeed, the Austrian designer was not alone in her thoughts this season. From afar, designers have said that the full return of Fashion Week has given them good reason to take stock and make a visual statement about what they stand for. For some, this meant looking inward and restating their core design principles, while others saw this systematic reset as an opportunity to set new parameters and benchmarks for their practice - to boldly carve out a new identity and aesthetic in a brave new world.
In the case of Andreas' exhibition yesterday in a glass-roofed warehouse in the Marais, it felt like it was somewhere in between those two poles. While there were plenty of signature Viv-isms at play, in its quirkiness and eclecticism it felt like it charted a broad new territory for the brand.
An air of handmade wit runs through pieces like single-strap vinyl-wrapped dresses, carpet-printed tunics and headpieces made from the designer's baby blankets and favorite childhood toys. This sentiment was embodied in romantic bias-cut dresses, as well as huge belted satin and jacquard gowns, which came with huge fabric frames.
As the Spring/Summer '22 collection - as Vivienne Westwood - also showcased a fair dose of light sensuality. Here, though, it felt more vulgar and brazen than we've seen elsewhere - its sexiness came with a winking, caressing humor that pierced through the smoky, fiery tone of many of the season's collections. A hot pink ribbed-knit mini-dress, for example, had an almost comically padded chest, while the back of men's pants were slashed open to reveal the buttocks beneath. Thigh-high boots with flared hips were held up by suspenders, and boys and girls alike wore stylish cut-out latex dresses. In a season when the idea of sexiness seems to be taken seriously, it was a welcome reminder that sexiness - and sex - begins with fun.
