At Paris Fashion Week this season, front row guests have not been shy about flashing the nipple, creating a headache for outlets covering the shows for social media. Nicolas Di Felice, artistic director at Courrèges, is all about another erogenous zone: the back. Several attendees at his Paris show wore his “magic square” tops made of nude mesh, which cover only the front of the torso, fully exposing the rear.
For next season, he’s reducing them to the size of censor bars, guaranteeing all his outfits pass the Instagram nipple filter. “It’s the magic bandeau,” he said of the graphic bra tops, secured with rubber straps, that he paired with leather pants and wrap skirts in a mostly monochromatic palette. In this let-it-all-hang-out era, there’s something to be said for subtle seduction.
Well, maybe not as subtle as the opening look, a pod-like coat with a sharkfin hood that looked like a full-body prophylactic. It was Di Felice’s diving-inspired riff on an archival cape from 1962, the springboard for a collection rife with aquatic elements. His show set featured a 28-foot-wide version of an ocean drum, an instrument that mimics the sound of crashing waves, while the show invitation was a silver metal Möbius loop.
“I like that it has no beginning and no end. There’s no inside or outside either. It’s really a symbol of infinity,” the designer said backstage.
“I was interested in the notion of cycles, things that repeat over and over again.” His in.