SimplyAbuDhabi XII

H edi Silmane launched his Autumn-Winter 2014 collection and continued to press forward with the rebrand from YSL to Saint Laurent. The only memory of the former brand identity being the banners over the entrance,this is a metamorphosis almost complete. He’s legendary for his lust for control, a positive character trait in this pitch-perfect season. California grunge has been the inspiration for this, only his second women’s collection for Saint Laurent. It’s been designed as an extension of the menswear collection he showed earlier, evident in the tux and masculine shirts and trousers, in the manly suits with narrow ties. The only nod to femininity in these androgynous editions was flowing locks and sparkled earrings. If you take one thing from this show, it’s the lesson that you should be wearing your jacket or blazer over absolutely everything this season. Invitations were in keeping with the theme, ever faithful. The request to attend the show formed a little black artists book, reproducing the paintings of a local LA painter, Theodora Allen, feted for researched paintings that focus on “longing and legacy”. Legacy is the buzzword that could also be applied to this collection of nostalgic grunge, spawned from the mind of a man who has a self-professed attachment to the scene having admired it from afar as a youngster growing up in sophisticated Paris. There was little renewing, more rehashing. Baby doll dresses, schoolgirl slips, vintage florals, sloppy cardigans, checked shirts and sparkly dresses. For evening, you have risqué, sequin-covered gowns slashed to the navel with pockets at the hip and strong, enhanced shoulders. Wear this with neat, patent ankle boots for a killer party outfit. A slim fit dress with mini-skirt and batwing sleeves. The modern take on the pinstripe suit is more daring, swapping trousers for a miniskirt and the mandatory bare legs and searing the fabric with glitter thread instead of customary stripes. For those that are not leg-confident, try the floor-length off-the-shoulder black evening gown glistening with sequins and broken by a neat belt and black brogues. Or try the latest take on the female tuxedo, with power shoulders, a velvet belt and satin lapels paired with trousers cut short at the ankle. Volume is key, perhaps enhanced by the dangerously skinny models on the catwalk. Oversized bows on shoulders, shoulder pads and shruggy coats. Off the shoulder was a major theme, sometimes panelled with lace in place, but fully maximising the asymmetric silhouette. And there is lots of leather. One of the most striking was a wrap- around dress made of glossy gold and rippling in its stiff form to give the appearance of a statue. The batwing leather jacket worn over a tiered short satin dress is sublime, as is the leather miniskirt dressed in several ways and the skin-tight leather trousers worn with ankle-strap courts and a Teddy boy blazer trimmed with leather lapels. For all the serious business of stamping an individual mark on the brand, a sense of fun remains. Witness the wrap around, jacket- style dress, black and covered in a print of lips worn with bare legs and a chunky necklace encircling the collar. The flame top worn with a clashing mini skirt, and a glossy PVC dress in red zebra print finished with a bow at the waist and silver booties. Poppy pink crops up in the most unlikely places – a high-gloss bandeau top striped with black and worn with a leopard print skirt and an almost skater style dress slashed at the top and worn with black accessories. It’s all very wearable and great for the retailers. Women could walk directly out off the catwalk into the nearest hipster bar and look perfectly preened. 1 7 0 S I M P LY A B U DH A B I