Nicole Phelps and Luke Leitch have just touched down in the City of Light for Paris Fashion Week—but before heading off to the shows, they sat down to talk about the highlights that emerged during Milan Fashion Week on The Run-Through.
They started by talking about the Diesel show, which marked the end of Glenn Martens’s six-year run at the brand before he devotes himself fully to Maison Margiela. “Martens has always been very inclusive, very sex-positive,” Luke observed. “It’s quite punk.” In fact, that sex-positive energy manifested itself in a young couple making out on the front row at the show. “I really felt my age and like a slightly disapproving old dowager,” he added with a laugh.
There was also the Prada collection, centered on the skirt. Mrs. Prada has given several interviews (including on our own very podcast) about the skirt being similar to a T-shirt in its capacity as a canvas for expression.
Luke wrote about the Emporio Armani presentation, which was the last to be overseen by Leo Dell’Orco and Silvana Armani before Dario Vitale takes over at the brand. The show used texture to interrogate the concept of time: “There was the addition and the encrustation of salt crystals on garments and bags, which is not something I’d wanna wear in this Parisian rain because I’d be melting,” Luke noted. But he found the clothes beautiful nonetheless.
Nicole and Luke were both “Sanderistas”—great fans of Simone Bellotti’s latest collection for Jil Sander. Maria Grazia Chiuri’s second ready-to-wear collection for Fendi also made a splash, as did Meryll Rogge’s collection for Marni. “You can really feel—call them Gen Z, call them what you will—but young people coalescing around her,” Nicole said. “The way she’s collaging references and whipping them all together in her own way really speaks to how people who are 30 or so are looking at the ’90s or the early 2000s.”
Demna had a big moment at Gucci following his divisive show in February, showing in a beautifully realized store. “It was a fabulous vehicle for saying Gucci is not necessarily just for one person or just for one style,” Luke noted. Demna imagined a whole universe of people coming to shop, which included the horse girl, the glamourpuss, and the punk prep-school kids. Paris Fashion Week, here we come. Allez!
