Céline Spring/Summer 2016

As expected with a Céline collection, it never fails to let us down. This season was a retrospective of everything we love about Phoebe Philo (creative director for the house). She is able to create clothes that women actually want to wear and could wear (despite the price tag). Asserting the idea that clothes can be easily adaptable to the way women want to live their lives, instead of feeling victimised by fashion.
However today, Philo played more with the ideas of femininity, gently moving away from minimalism with the introduction to prints and a wider array of fabrics.
Femininity through the more accentuated silhouettes and voluminous dimensions- crepe trousers and puffed up shoulders; cinched in waists and severely sartorial structures.

We saw pieces that we would have never of dreamt of seeing at a Céline show. Take the silk slip dresses that have deemed rather popular this season,(seen at Givenchy, Burberry and Calvin Klein)which had lace details that carefully drew attention to the female form. Or perhaps that deconstructed moss green overcoat which Philo re-worked, offering us a confliction between the cinched-in elasticated waist and the boxy, masculinised shoulders.

 

 

Lace silk slip dresses

 



 

Morphed shapes in moss green

 



My favourite looks were the leather tunics that sat over asymmetrical jersey dresses, they just screamed aggression yet downplayed by the fluidity of delicate fabrics. Almost resembling a suit of armour.

 

Leather tunics implied powerful futurism

Also Céline is generally well known for its rather grandiose array of accessories, in particular bags. From the phantom tote to the trapeze, these bags are pure dreams. This season exhibited a brand new selection: pillow bags, the box clutch and those auburn bucket bags.(literally to die for)

 Pillow bag

 

Violet Crocodile box-clutch

Amidst this perfectly conveyed notion of masculine vs feminine, we also had this portrayal of almost quite a pertinent futuristic 'urbanista' as one now calls it. A woman of the utmost class and dignity, who believes only in a non-mainstream and alternative way of dressing. Someone who can easily adapt their style to their surroundings, as it were. Definitely open for interpretation.

For me, Phoebe Philo remains one of my favourite designers. Her visions are simple, raw and dynamic. Season after season she brings us more than just clothing collections, they are art installations.

Please Note: I do not own any of these images, courtesy of Vogue.com