9/25/2013

Runway Review: Rochas Spring 2014

Although I do consider myself a fashion connoisseur (kind of), I have to admit that I wouldn't be as aware of Rochas if I wasn't such an avid American Vogue reader. Grace Coddington includes at least one piece in each editorial she edits and Anna Wintour has been known to wear their pieces. Hopefully Marco Zanini and the coorporate heads cut them a nice check...monthly.

Even though I'm not that familiar with Zanini's work for Rochas, I can detect his aesthetic from a mile away. One word that might most accurately describe it would be ladylike. Think knee length pencil skirts and glamorous A-line dresses (you might rember how much they were used in Vogue's September issue). This time around these Rochas staples were done in lighter fabrics, as well as colors.


The color palette was extremely soft and feminine a.k.a. pastel. Butter yellow, sky blue, rose pink and minty green organza seem to have dominated on Zanini's mood board. 50s style T-shirts (tiny collars, buttoned all the way to the top) and shift dresses were predictably paired with three quarter sleeved satin jackets and opera coats, but some of the more imaginative loooks were the ones that included satin baseball jackets (one of my favorite pieces) and shiny plasticized cocoon coats. Additional shimmer was provided by crystal and mirror embellishments on, well, everything.


Rochas is only the third show from Paris that I've covered this season, but I believe I'm picking up on a trend or two confirmed by Mr. Zanini's presentation. First up: brocade. After Dries Van Noten's rich gold, Zanini showed more demure brocade florals perhaps inspired by vintage wallpapers. Can't wait for Anna to rock one of those skirts.

Also on the trend front, after rather sporty collections seen in Milan, French designers are going the opposite direction - a romantic one. And what is more romantic than ruffles? Marco Zanini decided to keep things restrained by applying them on simply cut dresses. Not very successfully, I have to say.


The accessories presented were the real stunners. Oversize costume jewellery necklaces that looked like gigantic crystals and perhaps the quirkiest shoe we've seen this season - ballet flats with marabou feathers applied. When the models walked the runway, all eyes were on their feet.


Red Carpet Wishlist




Photos from Style.com




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