Live From Paris: Light As Air

Here in Paris, things are status quo in January: a sea of markdowns overpowering retail everywhere.The Intimate Apparel floor at Bon Marché was right in sync  There was absolutely nothing new in lingerie with the exception of a few fashion shots from bra brands. The one bright spot was cruise, whose color story often heralds the next season’s intimate apparel message. As usual, Erѐs set the pace. The palette was further reinforced by several RTW  vignettes, dynamically  assembled by design houses like  Chanel.

But it was the Al Weiwei fantastical installation, ERXI (“Child’s Play”) that took my breath away. Serene, light mythological  creatures constructed in a translucent silk and bamboo floated effortlessly through the store’s central forum and inhabited every window on the street. Maybe this was not lingerie, but the inspiration it provided speaks volumes about fabric and lace design direction for lingerie F/W 2016 into S/S 2017. I have no doubt it will be an important fulcrum point at both the Salon de Lingerie and Interfilѐre show starting this Saturday.  I could sense it in the air.