The state of the world had designer Louis-Gabriel Nouchi wanting to throw the book at it all. And not any book: George Orwell’s dystopian cautionary tale “Nineteen Eighty-four.”
“It’s never felt so accurate,” he said backstage before the show. But while the literary work was the starting point for the collection, Nouchi was “done hiding [himself] behind the books.”
Instead, he felt the time was ripe for a refresher course on brand fundamentals such as sensuality and inclusivity.
“I really wanted to go back to showing the body — and all kind of bodies — because to be honest, working on the [Paris 2024] Paralympic opening ceremony this summer really changed my life,” he said.
But unlike earlier seasons, there was no notion of seduction attached to these figures of varied ages, gender, statures and ability clad in black, khaki and bone tones.
Strong-shouldered tailoring carried an air of menace, boxy silhouettes were paradoxically made fluid by his textile palette of smooth velvets and mouliné wool jacquards creating the illusion of tweed. There was also suiting developed with Danish textile manufacturer Kvadrat, as part of a project for the Woolmark Prize.
Baring the skin likewise read like the power move of fighters stripping down to bodysuits and underwear featuring the signature LGN one-sided cutout, rather than sensual overtures.
Zippers bisecting silhouettes vertically felt aggressive, as did spiked gloves and sock sneakers, the latest iteration of his Puma collaboration. They hammered home the impression that when it comes to his quest to put all bodies on an equal footing, Nouchi isn’t one to go down without a fight.
