Punk Infusion Isabel Marant - Ready to Wear Collection for Fall 2016

It hasn’t been long since life in France was disrupted by a series of terrorist attacks, and in an attempt to remind people of the good times that once was, Isabel Marant designed her latest collection in fond memory of simpler times in the city, where she grew up. “It really goes back to when I would sneak out, aged 15, to punk clubs like Le Palace and Les Bains Douches,” said the designer backstage to a reporter from VideoFashion. “With all the sadness that has happened in Paris, it felt like the time was right to party and have fun.”

The catwalk was lined with eager onlookers to see what Marant would bring to the table this season. Combined with upbeat techno music from the 80’s with a centre piece of metallic spheres crowded together to resemble a cloud like formation, the show echoed with the essence of punk throughout the hall. Fashion Director and Senior Vice President of Neiman Marcus stores, Ken Downing mentioned the collection emulated ensembles out of an MTV music video and further credited Marant’s use of buckled creepers in combination with sleek Victorian inspired silhouettes and vinyl articles, saying it was rather a fun collection.

The 80’s was a time where the youth took rebellion to an entirely different level, and youngsters everywhere immersed themselves into the anarchic energy that the decade was identified with, Marant, who tends to follow a bohemian essence of expression in her prior collections, decided to make a subtle shift to the Punk era inspired by the likes of Parisian Punk icon, Edwige Belmore and Malcolm McLaren

Models marched across the runway in “mannish” oversize coats in tweeds paired with high neck Victorian blouses and sleek, short vinyl miniskirts causing a stark contrast between menswear with the use of a miner dose of femininity; something Marant is known for.

A palette of bright reds, charcoal blacks and taupe accents strides down the runway, creating a rough palette reflecting the daring nature of the clothes Marant had created. Fashioned with unruly perms, slick side swept bangs and faux-hawks with bare faced make-up, the show was a scene out the 80’s club scene.

Layering took the forefront of Marant’s collection, clashing together tennis sweaters with fishnet stockings to create an edgy alternative to the softness of the chiffon flounces. The quirkiness of the collection did not stop there. Marant took it only further with her keen use of Prince of Wales prints paired with ballet flats. Her collection was a reminder of the time when she and her friends would scour the flea markets in London shopping for the right creepers, in the 80’s.

“Fashion is all about feeling super confident”, Marant says “and for me it comes from being comfortable and well”. The designer definitely hit well on the 80’s punk scene in her Fall collection and managed to send her audience to the past; to times that were defined by a sense of carefree times. France, in a way, was comforted with the playfulness of Marant’s little nostalgia rush and certainly is headed for better times ahead, fashionably speaking.

Sources -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AB73qf9HSg

http://nowfashion.com/pfw-see-now-buy-now-18804

Picture Courtesy - Vogue.com