At first glance, one wouldn’t be able to make out what Cédric Charlier‘s starting point was for his Fall 2019 show. It was in fact birds, which if his first look of an extremely-covered up navy coat with a scalloped hem didn’t portray, his marabou-feathered ensembles certainly gave it away. Charlier cites the creature as the symbol of heaven the soul, which led him to create this soulful collection. The soul here, however, wasn’t always the beautiful and ethereal kind as his narrative might suggest. While the marabou feather trim was a novel detail and worked more often than not in beautifying the largely pragmatic looks, some elements simply didn’t work. For one thing, the rather literal incorporation of bird printed pieces was both poor in thought and execution. The print looked quite ugly and did little to nothing in pushing the references nor add more fascination into the collection. There were also a lot of questionable textiles, of the shimmering variety, that further cheapened many of what would have been luxurious styles. The ultimate saving grace was the more languid approach in the dressing, as well as the stark color palette that’s likely to attract many customers come fall. But as for Cedric Charlier’s next collection, it’s best if he set that bird free and let it fly away.
Photo: Alessandro Lucioni / Gorunway.com
