Best of Paris Fashion Week

Louis Vuitton FW11

by Grace Gordon

The Louis Vuitton runway was so kink-oriented it was easier to picture the models holding whips than handbags. Sculpted silhouettes (attributed to rigid cordovan corset belts), sensual cut-outs, and acres of sheer thigh highs made this collection unabashedly sexy. Marc Jacobs has been exploring such territory recently, to great effect. When Jacobs tackles “passion” and “discipline,” this is the outcome. Disciplined passion. Or, if you’d rather, passionate discipline.

If you love a woman in uniform, you’ll dig the smart military caps and slick multi-buttoned outerwear in this collection. Peter Pan collars and cocoon sleeve furs play it demure, but are undercut by radical amounts of bare leg (tamed to some degree by sheer thigh high tights). This is Boudoir Basic Training, or some such mixed military/kink message. If this is all too much, Jacobs throws in a few prim printed dresses to balance the collection. Surprisingly, none of this comes off as too severe. Rather, it appears modern and daring in Jacobs’ skilled hands.

Photos: Courtesy of GoRunway

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