Isabel Marant (Q1931)
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French fashion house
| Language | Label | Description | Also known as |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | Isabel Marant |
French fashion house |
Statements
Why go wild in the country when you can go wild in Paris? That’s Isabel Marant’s thinking for spring. She simultaneously dipped into the early 1980s vibe of mohawked Annabella Lwin and her band, Bow Wow Wow—their big hit was “Go Wild in the Country,” of course—and the tribalist punkiness of the era in general, which was then filtered through what Marant does so well and so effortlessly: Make great clothes.As to the specifics, this was a hypnotically fantastic mélange of intricate braiding and embroideries for colorful silk chevron short dresses; weathered black-gray denim blousons; studded black leather shorts; lots of chamois-effect suedeblanket-stitched with leather, some of it swished with fringe; flat moccasin boots; suede hippie-ish satchel bags; weighty gold bangles; and, oh yes, that eternal Marant accessory—legs.(Also, I hate to interrupt your review-reading pleasure for a minute, but a quick aside on Bow Wow Wow. The band was looked after by the late pop svengali Malcolm McLaren, the onetime manager of the Sex Pistols, and he hired the teenage Lwin to front the band, figuring she’d be malleable and easily manipulated. Au contraire: Lwin turned out to know her own mind and was always ready to stand her ground. Sounds like the archetypal Marant woman, if you ask me.)At a preview for her collection, Marant and her design director, Kim Bekker, were pulling off the racks all manner of intricately worked pieces: a shrug on a jacket, which fluttered because of its silken, almost iridescent strands of fringing; a beige and abstract print top patched together, its seams accentuated by braiding that zigzagged all over it; and two long dresses, one black, the other metallic gray, constructed out of panels held together by silver pearl-like balls and flashing a touch of skin.This was an artisanally ambitious collection from Marant. “I wanted to go back to our roots, do something really craft-y,” she said. “It’s about a tribe of really strong women. And there was a bit of a vibe of the Amazon.” She showed a striking swirling needleworked dress whose pattern, formed from the weaving of its silk yarn, had been inspired by South American butterflies. “It was really these soft and warm colors we wanted, almost like the colors of a sunset,” Bekker said of the collection’s palette of rust, mauve, pink, and purple. “And the wings have this almost velvety texture that we wanted too.
”One of the things that has been bubbling up over the last few days when talking about spring’s collections is considering the difference between the male gaze and the female gaze. It’s always been a conversation, but somehow it’s gotten more frequent, more persistent than ever before. When it comes to Marant, there definitely is a difference: Every collection is a study in fashion as a conspiratorial gesture of solidarity to women. In other words, it’s like she and Bekker are saying: We understand you, and we will make clothes you can understand—and wear.For instance, it may be that some of her women want the lankier leggy look that Marant does so well, but don’t necessarily want to show their legs: The label’s newer trousers, with their lean, cropped, kick-flared look to the rescue. Also, as Marant indicated with the show’s shoes lining the studio floor, nothing gets higher than a tiny kitten heel, but most everything else is super-flat. “We wanted the girls to be in flats,” Marant said, “to make them feel liberated. No one really wears heels anymore.”
29 September 2024
Isabel Marant has been the reigning queen of Parisian boho since she launched her brand some 30 years ago. For spring, she’s suggesting a revival complete with tassels, crochet, fringed scarves, and chunky claw pendants. Nothing too literal, though. She’s calling her latest take “modernized Marrakesh.”“It’s about bringing back a wardrobe that’s not too complicated and yet more sophisticated,” she explained in her showroom fresh off opening a new flagship in Beijing. “Cool luxury is always minimal, easy, and chic with just the right dose of craftiness.”Contrasts of texture take pride of place: English eyelet swings with pompoms, ikat is rendered in lurex, velvet has lavish bead embroidery. A soft palette centers on soft écru, beige, brown, and black, with the occasional shot of hot red, or a busy print, such as a short-sleeved top and shorts in turquoise python or a berry-and-ecru print on a gathered off-the-shoulder dress. A spangly black lurex top with cut-out details brought femininity to relaxed leather trousers anchored by a statement belt. The slouchy, chain-trimmed Edric low boots were classic Marant: whether paired with lingerie-inspired dresses, denim or leather, these statement boots have attitude to burn.
1 July 2024
This season, the Isabel Marant man is out and about. And true to form, he’ll always skip a flashy scene in favor of a tried-and-true watering hole—someplace slightly crunchy with peeling paint, a sticky floor, live acts, and zero pretense.“It’s a little craftsy and graphic, but there’s always a clash, because he’s a cool mec,” the designer offered, noting that the guy she has in mind is a wanderer who’s happy to work in a touch of ikat embroidery here and a dash of paisley there. Breaking up folklorish motifs on a marinière sweater was a clever move. Likewise, checked shirts nodded to grunge without going literal. It’s all a matter of scale and dosage.“He’s accessible in an everyday, casual kind of way, but he’s definitely not a businessman,” said the designer, who celebrates 30 years in the business this year. It will be interesting to see which guys out there opt for the embellished jeans, though Marant and her creative director, Kim Bekker, gave them an easy out in the form of pleated trousers, paired here with a shearling-lined jacket embellished with bold graphics. As styled by Emmanuelle Alt in her first shoot for the men’s collection, outerwear and shirts looked like they could potentially have plenty of crossover appeal too.
19 June 2024
“We don’t do quiet luxury,” Isabel Marant said at a recent preview of her fall 2024 collection. “We do unquiet luxury.” With that, Marant gave one of her glorious, throaty laughs. And you know what, she’s right. There hasn’t ever really been a place in the Marantverse for an austerely anonymous camel cashmere sweater, so polite and always minding its manners, never wanting to offend—boring—or some utterly minimal/severely plain/investment smugly written all over it black dressing gown coat that looks like a Mother Superior’s bathrobe. That said, at the end of the day, there is some crossover between quiet and unquiet, specifically the idea that whatever you buy into, it should stick around and last, because you loooove wearing it—and you want people to know that you loooove wearing it.Which takes us back to Marant’s superb fall collection, which as she has done for some time now, was another she co-designed with artistic director Kim Bekker. Marant and Bekker pushed their fabrications perhaps further than they have ever done before. “There’s a lot of leather,” Marant said, “but at the same time, even though it’s quite luxurious, it’s also very easy and wearable.” There were great roomy 1980s inflected blouson jackets in shearling or leather, in olive, chocolate, or black, and because you can never have too much of a good thing, they often came worn with matching leather mini skirts, or lanky, leg lengthening pants.And then, because you can really, really never have too much of a good thing, they used the suedes and leathers for scrunched boots resting on tiny heels, some of which came embellished with jewelry (you can add it or subtract it as you wish), or casual, effortless tooled suede bags swinging with fringe. Those boots and bags had a bit of a gaucho vibe. In fact, a lot of this collection did: With the short fringed sarape skirts; the blanket throw coats; the suede scarves wound around the neck; and—perhaps best of all—with a killer pair of black tasseled trousers which had been riveted with silver studs, and worn under a shrugged on black trench. Into this richly layered mix went chunky cable knit sweaters, rock ‘n’ roll leopard micro-print jeans, utilitarian jumpsuits and chore jackets, stacks of bangles, and a fantastic combo of a beige weathered cotton drill shirt, perfect in its slouchy proportions with a pair of equally weathered cotton trousers also cut with a slouchier attitude, frayed seams zig-zagging all over them.
If this all sounds like it really defines the Marantverse, correct, got it in one: The other thing she and Bekker did, said Marant, was that, “we wanted to go back to the roots of the brand.” Wise move. That’s the other thing: If you’re going to buy something with the expectation of it lasting, you want a piece of clothing that has the designer’s signature burnished into it. At the risk of sounding crazy, this might be the most Marant-Marant collection she has done in a while, not least, as Bekker pointed out, that it was, “important that we also made a statement about empowering women.” And it worked. Because, at a time when we’re (rightly) bemoaning the paucity of women designers in the business, it feels more vital than ever to be listening to those who have a crystal clear idea of who they are, and have the unquiet voice to tell us.
29 February 2024
Isabel Marant has never been one for conventional codes, so when she and artistic director Kim Bekker started brainstorming the fall 2024 collection, they decided to go with gut instinct. During a showroom preview, Marant described it as “preppy grunge.”“We wanted to mix things up, break codes, and take down barriers,” she offered. “It’s really a timeless wardrobe that he’s picking from in a way that’s very natural and spontaneous.”Marant’s particular brand of Parisian nonchalance—pitch perfect and seemingly never overthought—has been much imitated but never quite equaled for three decades now. Here, a leopard belt or faux tiger stripes get thrown into a mix that spans layette pink, lavender, yellow, and a lashing of smoky red, layered with cable knit sweater and jacquards, or perhaps crunched up a bit with a Dad shirt. A bronze puffer chimed with one of next season’s key colors; that and a khaki jacket with a contrasting collar looked strong.The “little accidents” are the thing. “It’s all about wearing things in a spontaneous, unexpected way that gives the guy a special character,” Marant said. Picked apart, the pieces in these looks appear rather basic. Put together, the Marant man has attitude to burn.
18 January 2024
If there’s a reassuringly late ’80s/early ’00s feel to the Isabel Marant pre-fall collection, it’s not just that “I haven’t really changed, anyway,” as the designer allowed during a visit to her showroom. It’s because this lookbook shows signature shapes and silhouettes back in the hands of her longtime friend and collaborator Emmanuelle Alt.“We get each other, and we’re very complementary,” Marant offered. “Emmanuelle has always known how to bring out the sexy-cool attitude that is the brand’s DNA, so working with her again was the obvious, very natural choice.”Shoulders and legs being Marant’s favorite sartorial talking points, she and her artistic director, Kim Bekker, set about revisiting the layering and attitude of the early days while also leaning in on ideas about empowerment and sophistication. The result is a cross-pollination of boyish cuts, strong shoulders and baggy trousers with minis, statement jewelry, and slouchy ankle boots, this season with a short, cylindrical kitten heel.Warm tones, abstract prints, quilting, and materials like a fuchsia panne velvet catch the light and play up texture: Glossy leather pairs variously with a preppy shirt, a cable knit, a shearling gilet, or silver trousers, for example. Classic aviators and a slouchy hobo bag round out the mix.“The idea is not to have too many clothes, but not to be boring or cutesy, it has to be comfortable and easy,” the designer offered. Marant is coming up on her 30th anniversary in the business. Even if she’s not sure what she’ll do about that milestone just yet, that kind of longevity is worth celebrating. In the meantime, much of this collection will resonate with French-girl-style diehards wherever they may be.
12 December 2023
Nightfall in the Palais Royal is unlike anywhere in Paris; the enclosed gardens buffer out the city’s noise, while the dark, tree-linedalléeslit by elegant lampposts feel worthy of Magritte. This has been Isabel Marant’s venue for years, and tonight she noted how it holds personal significance: her mother had lived around the corner (and the brand’s HQ is also nearby). This season, she opted to occupy the full length of the gardens and the pre-show runway was bathed in a hazy blue nightclub glow consistent with the full-throttle energy of recent seasons. But once the lights went up, the music by Blonde Redhead kicked in, and Marant’s lineup of A-list models began a slower, seductive strut. There was a noticeable vibe shift that took us somewhere other than Paris.Backstage, Marant and artistic director Kim Bekker bounced their fresh vision of femininity back and forth. Bekker: “It’s a new energy, more mystical, a bit more pure.” Marant: “It’s a collection about lightness.”The opening look—a fluid, full-length parka in parachute toile over a lingerie number with delicate detailing—suggested that said lightness might translate as darkly provocative. Leather ensembles comprising a fantastically fitted jacket with undulating seams and barely-there shorts conveyed leggy lightness, while bouncy geometric patterned dresses flecked with lurex glinted in the light. Then there was the male model wearing an ivory pajama shirt—his skin visible through the leaf embroidery--with denim shorts and boots; this was the “poetic” lightness that Marant also mentioned. But they also tinkered with the styling by reducing the usual layering, and this lightness made the strongest statement of all.Meanwhile, the airiest looks were grounded with clogs towering on pillared heels, a reminder that the mark of Marant is in the contrast, the clash. This played out elsewhere, too. Spot all the sleek swimsuit variations, often with the sides scooped out (incidentally, the designer is an avid swimmer). Now spot the tactile knits and embroidered denim including a two-piece look that was actually a very cool jumpsuit. For all the shorter silhouettes that swished, there were slinkier elongated dresses that were newer to the repertoire.“We have our way of doing things and it’s very particular and very recognizable but it’s also always about bringing this into today’s silhouette,” said Marant.
The show reached its climax with some knockout evening designs, including a finely pleated knit dress in dazzling blue and an LBD that edged across the décolleté, swooped up the neck and around one shoulder. Here, sandal booties accentuated the allure, and the sandy gravel underfoot helped paint the picture of sultry nights by the sea. Those dresses looked easy to pack—yet another upside of lightness.
28 September 2023
Picking up on the last show, Isabel Marant focused on tailoring and strong graphics for spring, mixing earthy tones with emerald, raspberry, and yellow, borrowing from the early Y2K playbook, and leaning in on python in particular. “It’s graphic yet also minimalist, in a way,” artistic director Kim Bekker offered during a showroom visit. “It lets you play up contrast in an elevated way while also making a very Marant statement.” A white shirtdress thrown over mustard python thigh-highs was one of several one-and-done looks.The season’s key silhouettes pair softness with structure. Slender-slouchy tailored trousers were paired with a soft leather jacket. A carpet-motif bomber from seasons past provided inspiration for a sequined mini. Coated metallic eyelets on a black slip dress with mismatched straps (one spaghetti, the other wider) put a fresh twist on the minimalist trope. A swirl of micro-mosaic print—in shades of green or earth tones on a couple of dresses—seemed to mimic the famed cobblestone streets of Paris.Metallic accessories like blown glass jewelry tinted gold from the inside and shoes with jeweled petals also made a strong statement. But ultimately, more than any one particular piece or look, it’s attitude that has always made Marant synonymous with French style. “The Isabel Marant girl has evolved into someone who can adapt different vibes and elements from culture, art, and music and make it her own,” noted Bekker. Put those shoes with an oversized black tuxedo, or throw on ’80s-inflected low boots with a crunchy dress in coated jersey, and you’re just about there.
30 June 2023
The spring mix at Isabel Marant is “a bit crafty, but it’s a constructive craftiness,” said the brand’s artistic director, Kim Bekker, during a recent showroom visit.The designers leaned in on tailoring and particularly graphics to elevate house signatures and amp up versatility. A bit of “crunchiness” came in textured and mohair knits; a little clash in florals, prints inspired by Japanese tie-dye techniques or—especially—the season’s most directional proposition: pixelated motifs.Trousers tailored for slouchiness found a counterpoint in a breezy long windbreaker or a leopard-print mohair sweater in buttery yellow and white. A workwear jacket went uptown in quilted plaid with gold-tone buttons. A clean-shouldered jacket slipped over a hoodie and worn with squared-off oval sunglasses captured a vibe Bekker described as “less young and more all-around.”Wide-legged jeans and especially denim cargos made solid foils in a season defined by contrast—if crunch or florals aren’t your game, a Marant State graphic tee might be. Here, as elsewhere this season, menswear embraced soft colors—pink, yellow, blue—and finishes. In a cool styling move, Marant sharpened those with combat boots as an alternative to sneakers.
24 June 2023
God bless Isabel Marant. It was the Thursday night of the Paris shows, and ennui had definitely started to set in. Yet here was Marant, throwing us a party as show in the shadow of the Palais Royal, complete with screaming kids, a mosh pit, a sound system doing mega decibels, and a performance from singer Rebecca Baby from Lulu Van Trapp, who belted out a club tune whose lyrics consisted almost solely of repeating “desire” and “disorder” over and over again, to the point that you were mouthing them yourself. (Still am, actually.) At the finale of the show, Baby threw herself into the writhing crowd and glorious chaos ensued.Meanwhile, some of the world’s greatest runway strutters stepped forward: Natasha Poly, Liya Kebede, Anna Ewers, Caroline Trentini, Liu Wen, Jessica Stam, Malgosia Bela, Kasia Struss, Anna Selezneva, Delfine Bafort—yep, and there’s more—Suvi Riggs, Aymeline Valade, Karmen Pedaru, Sasha Pivovarova, Julia Stegner and Imaan Hammam worked the runway in Marant’s knockout fall collection. That consisted of swaggering square shouldered blazers (fall 2023 will be forever known as The Season of The Jacket), oversized parkas, boyish sweaters, ’80s cocoon coats, uber conical heeled boots, slinky dresses—some zippered, some crystal embellished, many with footless hose—and a killer new jean shape with a contrast yoke and straight yet slouchy legs.But back to desire and disorder. No, not the sad state of my dating life, but the two states that Marant was thinking about for fall. Thedesiredoesn’t need much explaining. Marant has long championed female empowerment in everything her label stands for, and that includes making the kind of louche, sexy but always spiritedly casual look that focuses on allowing the woman wearing her clothes to express herself and her physicality. There was plenty of that here, and good it looked, too—especially on the starry cast of ‘older’ models, with plenty of blouson-y biker leathers and leggy boots. (Though if one wish could have been granted here, some curvier models would have been nice to have in the mix.) As for thedisorder, that was all about the poppers haphazardly fastening a fuzzy mini sweater dress, or the graphic slashes that appeared here and there throughout the collection.In a season where the everyday and the real are being celebrated and elevated, where good clothes can matter and not be disposable, Marant cannily underscored how much she’s been doing that for years now.
That, plus the casting of models who are her stalwarts, women who’ve been around a bit but still look utterly fab, not to mention the celebratory atmosphere of her show, was all a smart reminder that when it comes to wearing Isabel Marant, looking good and feeling good are always the same thing.
2 March 2023
The ’90s are back in force these days, which presents ample occasion for Isabel Marant to dip into some of her favorite signatures. For pre-fall, she gave them a little aughties twist, but it’s the mix that makes her such a Parisian icon: washed-out denim cargos with lace are a typical Marantian play.Masculine, oversized cuts—like a gray double-breasted suit, a roomy black tee, low-slung denims, and ample overcoats—were balanced by feminine touches, like white clogs or thigh-highs in curve-hugging stretch leather. As a counterpoint, she amped up femininity through lingerie inspirations such as a dévoré red velvet corset, a fuchsia stretch linen bustier dress that looked like it could work in any season, or slip dresses like one in black silk satin with broderie anglaise inserts and an open back.“It’s a femininity that’s a little boyish and rather minimal and discreetly sensual,” the designer offered during a showroom visit. Along with her first lieutenant, Kim Bekker, Marant said she strived to keep silhouettes simple and precise, focusing on refined materials and colors, “so you can just throw on a dress, or pants and a jacket and you’re done.”Other motifs included embroideries on a velvet halter-neck zip-up and a carpet-like print reprised in pinks and blues on a favorite jacket shape, paired with “leather track pants.” Rather than revolutionize every time, the designer prefers to exercise restraint, stick to her heritage, and bring her vocabulary to different contexts.“There has to be a certain reasonableness to the joy of buying a new piece of clothing,” Marant said. “These things are meant to stay in closets for a long time, so they have to be done right.”
26 January 2023
Five years ago, Isabel Marant started a men’s line because she kept spotting guys wearing pieces from her Étoile women’s line. Neither genderless nor identical, the men’s collection now stands on its own but in complete rapport with the French cool-girl staples Marant has been turning out for nearly three decades.“There are different personalities, but it’s really about dressing certain kinds of cool guy every day, in a really spontaneous way,” the designer offered in a dual showroom interview with Kim Bekker, the artistic director for her men’s and women’s collections and her right arm for more than a dozen years. Not surprisingly, they’re so in sync by now they can finish each other’s sentences.For fall, the men’s line revisits house classics, injecting freshness through color, tweaked proportions and plenty of texture, an exercise in hybridization that feels like Paris by way of some underground scene in Berlin or Brighton. Baggy cropped jeans or ample, low-slung cargos might pair with a slightly shrunken, fluffy cable knit and an electric blue vinyl bomber, or maybe a slouchy quilted jacket. Boxy knits skew preppy-adjacent, but with a little stretch thrown in. Jeans with Navajo-inspired embroidery might pair with a duffle transformed by faux fur. A hot orange parka-slash-canyoner has plenty of crossover appeal.Marant and Bekker said their aim for this season was to do “something fun and comfortable without overthinking things.” On that count, they succeeded.
20 January 2023
Let’s check what the weather report was for Paris the evening of September 29th: Chilly and cloudy but with an unexpectedly warm spell in the vicinity of the Palais Royal—aka the location of the Isabel Marant show. OK, I might have made up that last part but, come on! Marant always brings the heat. That’s both literally (her clothes so often speak to sunnier climes, and she has never met a thigh-grazing skirt or pair of short-short-shorts she didn’t like) and figuratively (she and her label have always exuded a joyous embrace of life).For spring, she doubled down on that approach, with a look that was abbreviated, exuberant, and went from soft to tough—often in the same outfit. It’s a singularly identifiable look she has created, one remarkably adept as a kind of blank canvas on which to project whatever she’s feeling for, be it punk, Victoriana, or surf and scuba. It’s possible to spot a Marant at fifty paces—even with my eyesight.This time round, Marant went back to basics, as it were, revisiting the moment when she started her label in the mid-’90s through to the dawn of the ’00s. There was a new mood in the air then, streetwise and raw, but also with a kind of world-weary, knowing charm. It was a moment when a different kind of woman—a little grunge, a little boho, a whole lot cool—made herself known. “I wanted to go back to a certain fragility of femininity, but still keeping in mind the Isabel Marant woman, who is a bit of a city warrior,” said the designer.She referenced the work of the brilliant late photographer Corinne Day, who pretty much photographed Kate Moss before anyone else, but who also, importantly, spent her sadly all too brief career photographing women as they would like to be seen themselves. You could also say that that’s quintessential Marant: A label where women can see themselves in it.The very personal era that Marant revisited was writ large in this collection. Racer cut tanks and swingy little dresses in patchwork configurations of metallic-threaded floral silk chiffon came with zippered leather minis and moto pants that had been washed and washed to get the perfect lived-in patina. Laser-cut suede jackets were as long as the shorts and fluttery skirts they were worn with. Camo looked as if it had been sun-bleached, cut into an oversized jacket (rocked by Gigi Hadid) or cargo pants, another from the Marant arsenal of killer trousers.
And to underscore what makes Isabel Marant, the woman and the label, tick, there was a profusion of artisanal detailing, from the tiny seed pearls sprinkled across an organdy camisole, to the macramé threaded across an organza blouse. “It’s all very subtle, but there’s a lot of craft going on here,” Marant said. “I’ve always been impressed by what the hand can create. Even if we speak about the industry of fashion, it’s really always about the craft of fashion for me.”
29 September 2022
“Nineties meets Y2K”—in other words minimalistic, long, and lean— is how Isabel Marant described her new resort collection during a recent showroom visit. The designer summed up her philosophy— one beloved by hip French gals for 30 years now—as the comfort of a fuzzy leopard jacquard coat or the ease of a dress—like the shirred pink print number here—that can be thrown on with white boots. Or a return to colored jeans, perhaps pale yellow, high-waisted, and worn with a ruffled bustier top to show off the shoulders.“It’s still real, everyday clothes, but very seasonless,” the designer offered, nodding to a soft beige off-the-shoulder English rib knit worn over faded, gently flared jeans with a cargo pocket. Favorite retro tropes nodded to Pat Benatar’s heyday, with ’80s volumes and sloped, mutton-leg, or puffed sleeves (sometimes layered over lace), or ’90s-leaning second-skin jersey with cut-out details. The designer also tweaked her own lexicon, for example giving an embroidered bohemian popover the crop-top treatment. Biker-spirited denim and leather leavened the lineup with a masculine air.Marant has always been eco-minded: buying less but better, and wearing clothes forever was part of her upbringing well before she set her sights on fashion. Here, what might appear as fur—for example in a mod, tweedy take on the twin-set—is in fact a cotton-linen blend. In an aside on that topic, the designer noted that fashion still has a thing or two to get right about newfangled stand-ins: anyone out there who finds virtue in wearing petrol-based substitutes, Marant has a few words for you.
6 July 2022
Isabel Marant has been borrowing from menswear for her women’s collections from the outset. At some point, she realized it was time to give back. “There’s clearly a new aesthetic now, and that truth is totally enlightening,” the designer said during a conversation in her airy showroom off the Place des Victoires.While sh’s been charmed by men with a feminine side since long before the mainstreaming of man-bags and makeup, Marant allows that, at one point, taking on another collection gave her pause. Then she realized that designing menswear was fun. “I love doing men’s—it’s more nonchalant on every level, there’s less pressure, and besides, I get to work with the most handsome guys in the world, c’est chouette,” she quipped.Since Marant’s man is the guy to her girl, it goes without saying that he doesn’t do formal. For spring, the designer offers up workwear-inspired staples in comfortable, everyday materials: quilted jackets, boilersuits, and jeans come with a little twist, for example more ample pockets. Tops—an embroidered tunic, a postcard sweatshirt, a terrycloth bomber, or tie-dyes tees—created a clear through line between her collections. Likening her philosophy to memories of summer, Marant said she’s always made her clothes with the idea that they should be held onto over time and mixed with other things. Just like the military jacket with the Boy Scouts patch she was wearing herself, a present she received as a teenager.“It’s a lot of universes put together that create a style,” Marant offered. That fans include Lewis Hamilton, Jay-Z, and Justin Bieber speaks for itself.
23 June 2022
Blonde Redhead, New York City’s magical melancholy rockers, played at Isabel Marant’s show tonight. Backstage Marant said she’s a big fan. “There’s an old song from them that was really inspiring me, it’s this ballad, “Cat on Tin Roof,” she explained. “For me, this season was about this ballad of a girl, she’s really going to the essentials; she wears a knitted dress with a huge coat over it. I wanted to do something very evident and very cozy, and easy to wear, and being naively sexy. She’s very discreet and at the same time very powerful.”All that to say, this collection walked to a different beat from Marant’s spring show last season. The sunny hedonism of that outing was replaced by a cooler vibe—not exactly muted, but definitely not as splashy. There were indeed little sweater dresses worn under big coats, accompanied by the over-the-knee boots that have become one of the season’s key trends.Another combination that in the before times of the pre-pandemic might’ve seemed surprising, but now looks like the new normal: the glam sport of a sexy evening top (here in stretch panné velvet) and shell pants.A Marant show is a good place to observe subtle shifts in fashion. Beyond the boots and oversize outerwear, this show told us definitely that cargo pants will be big next fall, and that pants in general are going to be lower-slung and longer of leg, likely with a little kick flare. If this designer has anything to do with it, we’ll all be in baggy jeans, too. Rianne Van Rompaey closed the show in a faded black pair with drop pockets and, as promised, a super-relaxed slouch.
3 March 2022
Rare is the businesswoman who laments an acceleration in sales, but Isabel Marant has always privately wrestled with her explosive success. When confronted with 2021’s stellar ecommerce results as well as recent retail wins in the U.S. during a preview in her sprawling Paris HQ (all polished concrete floors and a De Sede Terrazza DS-1025 black leather sofa) she admitted she felt “a bit disappointed.” She elaborated: “I love fashion and I love having a new garment; sometimes it’s better than going to thepsy[the shrink].” Then again, none of us needs new clothes. “I was always against consuming. This pandemic is telling us we are going too far, consuming and throwing things [away], so I was thinking that everybody was going to have different interests rather than buying things that they don’t really need. But we never did so well on the website, and in the shops. It’s a bit crazy.”Faced with what she described as a “tornado” of product—in addition to womenswear there is an Isabel Marant menswear line, the Étoile diffusion line, an eyewear offering, watches, bags, shoes—she insists her focus is on editing. The pre-fall collection was consequently a tight offering, inspired by Y2K, and a customer who wants to be both sexy and comfy, outré and laid-back, at the same time. “She wears something super tight, but she has a very big coat over it—it’s not in your face,” Marant explained. Second-skin bodysuits in pretty floral prints and vintage-inspired knits with statement cut-outs mingled with the tailored high-waisted jeans she turns out every season, albeit with more room in the leg and increased softness in the fabrics—in this case, a cotton-Tencel mix that creates a more fluid silhouette. She pointed out a mannish overcoat in her favored oversize boyfriend cut, jazzed up via a royal purple shade. But her favorite piece, a paper-thin leather top with a slouchy fit and lined with soft jersey, summed up the collection. As she put it: “Sexy, but not too much.”
28 January 2022
Wedge sneakers for men? Isabel Marant says yes. Having recently revived the love-them-or-hate-them, hit high-heeled sneakers that spawned six-month waiting lists and inspired a thousand knock-offs back in 2011, she’s run up a version for the boys—at the suggestion of her osteopath. “It’s true that for your back, the perfect heel height is 5.5cm. I was amazed, but my osteo told me, ‘I am saying to my customers, you should buy Isabel Marant sneakers because they are the perfect height when you have back pain,’ ” she said, in a preview at her Paris HQ. “Also, I know a lot of tiny guys who love to be tall.”The designer was wearing clogs herself—“not the most sexy things in life, but so easy to slip into”—with a navy sweater and baggy acid-wash jeans in a lightweight chambray denim. “I’m working every day on the floor, doing the fittings,” she shrugged, gesturing at her trousers. “I always notice, even if you have a very beautiful garment, if it’s not comfortable, you will always choose your oldest, most cozy sweatshirt to wear instead.” That resolutely practical streak influenced her fall menswear collection, which had grungy origins but came in luxe incarnations. A shearling coat in sunset hues was reimagined in a more casual sweatshirt shape; smart gray tweedy trousers came with an elasticated waist; and lumberjack checked shirts were rendered in super-soft brushed cotton. Equally useful was a reversible coat, checked wool on one side, waterproof khaki on the other.And for the guys who don’t do heels—her “more conservative” brothers, for instance, one of whom is a journalist, while the other works in the art world—there are shearling-lined suede boots which pair neatly with zip-neck ribbed sweaters in a sophisticated shade of biscuit. “I always try to keep the doors open for different kinds of people,” she said. “This collection has a slightly grungy vibe but the garments are approachable for any kind of man.”
21 January 2022
Peter Lindbergh photos of Linda Evangelista on the beach in Normandy were the prompt for this Isabel Marant pre-spring collection. “I was feeling for something quite simple and easy, with a very ’90s vibe,” Marant said over a Zoom. Model Birgit Kos, who stars in the look book, even got a Linda wig for the occasion.It’s a more minimal offering than the spring outing she showed in Paris recently, not devoid of colors, but not doused with Miami Beach-pastels the way her runway was either. Here and there, a girlish frill in the form of a printed pouf-shoulder or a ruched jersey bodice punctuates the lineup. But the fashion news is the boyish attitude of items like a pinstripe shorts suit, a parachute nylon all-in-one, and a narrow-cut overcoat.Streamlined and efficient, they’re the sort of pieces you might see on the designer herself. For Marant and her Gen X contemporaries, the ’90s were a definitive time. “It’s about having the right wardrobe,” she said. That narrow-shouldered coat definitely qualifies.
22 November 2021
On her August holidays, Isabel Marant retreats to Spain, where she has a house. A beachy vibe seeped into her new collection. “It’s full summer,” she said of the lineup. “I really wanted to have super healthy, sporty, beautiful women with a lot of skin and legs—like always.” If Marant has polished her formula to a high gloss, it hasn’t slowed the company’s roll. There’s a Madison Avenue flagship opening in early 2022 and a second location in Miami is in the works.Miami is the kind of place her new clothes are made for, with their parachute silks, South Beach pastels, and the ’80s-ish volumes of blouson tops and shell suits. Among the novelties was a logo motif on board shorts and henley tees that looked like it might’ve been lifted from old school, era-appropriate Ocean Pacific gear. Something else that made the show unique: the models were actually smiling. That they aren’t encouraged to do so more often is one of the enduring mysteries of the runway show, one that you might’ve thought would be addressed in a re-emergent fashion week. But no, so kudos to Marant for bringing them back.The models’ smiles went along with the soundtrack, which advised, on repeat, to “enjoy what you do.” The collection’s jumpsuits, ombré overdyed denim overalls, and sport-influenced separates were designed to ensure that you’ll get noticed doing whatever it is you’re enjoying, without being encumbered by them. The show started with shades of yellow and orange, then worked its way around to pink and violet, before ending with midnight sparkle. “It’s a sunset,” Marant said. Fun clothes for good times. Why not?
30 September 2021
“The collection—it’s energetic, punchy,vitaminée, très dynamique,” said Isabel Marant on Zoom from Paris. You wouldn’t expect anything different from the queen of Parisian cool; obviously, beingla reine,she gets it to a T. There’s no other brand that speaks sexy nonchalance so fluently and with the same French accent of joie de vivre as her’s does.Marant works her nonchalant magic for guys as well; the collection twists classic sportswear staples, adding a pinch of loose, breezy fun. “It’s the idea of sportludique,” she says. Her guys aren’t competitive machos peacocking around in shiny show-offy race cars, orbêtes de modevictims of the latest trend. Quite the contrary. They run around town in a handsometenueof “jeans-baskets-tees-sweatshirt,” as she enumerates, or they go camping on the weekends in their sensibly stylish wardrobe of technical anoraks, sweatpants, and slouchy denims as soft as joggers. Maybe they’ll add a floral printed shirt for a feel-good vibe. More often than not, they carry around their yoga mat. Put another way: They are ideal boyfriends.The pandemic hasn’t changed Marant’s consistent attitude towards style. Her idea of fashion has always been human and approachable; she designs for real people—who nevertheless in her clothes become the epitome of cool. “I’ve always believed in the wordprêt-à-porter,” she quips. “For me it’s a definition with real meaning. I don’t do occasion dressing. And for men, what I’ve always liked are everyday clothes with an extra kick of sporty energy from activewear, but they have to remain believable, smart, lively.Naturel.”
23 June 2021
You don’t have to be a soothsayer to predict fashion’s go-to mode in times of upheaval: crisis breeds hope, hope breeds escapism, and escapism almost always bring us futurism. It’s the word Isabel Marant used to describe her second women’s collection during the pandemic, which interpreted “the 1980s in 2030 fabrics,” as she said on a video call from Paris. Captured in a brutalist parking garage, her “défilmé” beamed her usual aesthetic into a spaceship atmosphere, giving her puff sleeves, prairie florals, and Parisian party dresses a glossy coat of futurism on the way.This critical moment, Marant said, “is giving more time to designers to experience new ways of showing clothes and expressing different styles. More and more, I feel like there’s not one trend but different ways of approaching fashion. The more diverse it is, the more interesting it is for me.” She exercised her futurism through leathers and vinyls and a skinnier silhouette, which all felt very ’80s sci-fi. Pop culture’s image of futurism hasn’t lived in vain this season, what with Prada’s bodysuits, Salvatore Ferragamo’sStar Trekextravaganza, and Dolce & Gabbana’s tribute to technology.Rather retro, Marant’s futuristic folklore and spaceship cowboys reminded her of the Walkman: the ’80s answer to the life-changing technology of the future. She sent the portable cassette players out as her show invitations. When you pressed play, Marant’s voice appeared on a tape that eventually went into the show soundtrack. During fittings, she soon came to regret presenting her young models with the device. “Most of the girls didn’t know what a Walkman was,” she said with a laugh, mortified. “I realized I’m getting old! One of the girls said, ‘What is a…‘Walking Man?’”At a time when robots are landing on Mars in the middle of a pandemic, will our real-life wardrobes turn to futurism? Probably, but it’s unlikely it will stem from a Space Age idea of what that looks like. Rather, Marant’s collection ticked the box of escapism embodied by the kind of sci-fi that always comes with a soothing dose of possibility you could sum up in cinematic titles:The Force Awakens; A New Hope; For All Mankind.
5 March 2021
Over the past year, we’ve all seen our shopping habits change. Not just in terms of the type of clothes we’re buying, but how we’re selecting them. Bar the moments of stir-crazed boredom that lead to impulsive online shopping, we now have all the time in the world to consider our purchases before we make them. Along with the financial uncertainties created by the pandemic, in many cases it’s drawn our sensibilities to wardrobe staples: ideal essentials.“If you’re staying at home in your pajamas, you don’t want any pajamas, you want your exact pajamas,” Isabel Marant said on a video call from Paris. She was painting a picture of a collection that wasn’t specifically about the comfortwear we’ve all embraced in lockdown, but about the feelings we attach to our favorite clothes. “What I was always interested in was, ‘What do I wear today?’ From a pile of clothes, I will always pick the most comfortable ones. They make me feel secure, at ease.”She employed that methodology to create an offering of elevated basics imbued with the look of age and comfort that gives a garment soul. “I love to study what people wear in the street. Sometimes I’m wondering why I’m a designer, because when you see people in the street, nine out of 10 people are wearing T-shirts, jeans, and sneakers. When I look at myself, that’s what I’m wearing most of the time too,” Marant admitted. “So, it’s about how to make it more interesting through twists and styling.”She gave her idea of wardrobe staples direction by way of an early-to-mid ’90s awareness expressed in retro sportswear influences and grungy granddad plaids, “aged” knits, flared check trousers, and oversized coats rendered in the humble colors of the classic men’s wardrobe. Floral motifs on the odd trouser—or tucked away in the lining of a coat—provided the playful personality we often associate with our favorite pieces. While made for a time when we’ll hopefully be released from confinement, they did reflect the comfort we’ve become accustomed to. “Once you put your foot in a sneaker, it’s very hard to get back in stilettos,” Marant quipped.What was on her mind was this: “Why do we need more clothes when we have so many in our wardrobe? What’s going to make a difference? Why would you buy one sweater over another? For me, it’s important to understand why people are more attracted to certain things than others when we don’t really need other things.
” Her study had the desired effect: well-thought-out staples that few of us would decline.
22 January 2021
It wasn’t long ago that Isabel Marant didn’t want to put on a show this week. Impacted by the alarming atmosphere, like everyone else in Paris—where Fashion Week currently resembles a poorly attended wedding, with rain—she thought she’d record a video and call it a season. “Then, I started to get used to the fact that this is going to be our new life,” she smiled, the bearer of bad news. “I’m afraid this is going to last for a little bit. So, I thought it was a good opportunity to start showing in a different way.” Going from zero to Donna Summer, Marant held on to her traditional Thursday-evening slot and staged within the Palais Royal what can best be described as a club night for happier times.There, to the beat of a techno remix of “I Feel Love” (a track Rick Owens also sampled for his soundtrack earlier in the day), the dance collective (La)Horde went wild as Marant’s top girls advocated an upbeat evening-into-daywear wardrobe for an era when this amount of touching probably isn’t advisable off the runway. As she was the first to admit, our turbulent times hadn’t done much to cramp her style. “My silhouette is very recognizable. I cannot design another way. I don’t have to force myself because times are difficult.” That shape remained 1980s-centric, suspended somewhere between Saint-Germain and Manhattan, with extra sheen and shine.The super casual was color-blocked with sporty Cindy Lauper clubwear. With every color segment of the show, the dancers’ outfits miraculously changed to the same color scheme. Marant said the wardrobe was occasion-less, perhaps a theme in our supposedly changing approach to dressing, what with the lack of anywhere to go other than where your laptop is. “It’s about giving confidence to women, making them feel good in what they’re wearing—that it’s easy and comfortable and doesn’t disguise you in something you’re not,” Marant said, echoing values borne out of our confinement closets. “The clothes have to become your personality.” Until now, though, those outfits haven’t exactly been synonymous with the skimpy hemlines and mutton sleeves that materialized on Marant’s runway.Why tease the dance floor at this point in time? “For me, fashion is about enjoying life,” she explained. “It has to be positive. It’s a release of energy to people, putting bad vibes behind.” Her decision to stage a fashion show came with similar intentions.
“We are all like, ‘Let’s bring down the tents!’” Marant said, emphasizing a desire to change the exclusivity of fashion shows. “We won’t have any seating [allocations]. People can just come and find their place.” Although the show was outside, that wasn’t a very good idea in the middle of a pandemic. Guests plonked themselves down next to you with zero respect for social distancing, not that this was Marant’s fault. “I want to open fashion to other worlds,” she continued. “I think it’s very sad that we designers have such energy and are doing such great things, but it’s only shown to fashion people.”
1 October 2020
While our collective future continues to feel uncertain on many levels, Isabel Marant is pretty much keeping to business as usual. Her showroom was open and filled with buyers—a promising sign, especially if, a few months from now, things have improved to the point that we are ready for a wardrobe refresh. With this collection, the designer is betting that we will gravitate toward statement pieces that last beyond a single season. “It’s more sophisticated, but not complicated,” she said of the lineup, citing midcentury-modern artists such as Miró and Calder as well as her intention to convey a slightly androgynous feminine persona.Accordingly, shoulders and sleeves are sculpted with unmistakable ’80s exaggeration—classic Marant by way of Saint Laurent—but the overall construction of each piece is deliberately minimal and easy to wear. Reworked men’s shirts will prove particularly useful if work life remains relegated to waist-up Zoom meetings. Yet the designer still cares what you might want to wear from the waist down and has stayed faithful to the ’80s referencing with acid-washed denim skirts and stirrup pants in the palest pink.The palette duality between light and soothing shades and assertive tones of green, red, and navy felt like a good instinct; we will not want to be spending the winter months enveloped in black. As for the dresses—in draped velour or fluid Tencel with cut-outs, take your pick—one can only look longingly and hope there will be occasions on the horizon to justify them and their edgy metal-capped boots. Otherwise, Marant’s quilted layers look more relevant than ever. “The confinement forced me to be very pragmatic,” she said, having spent the period surrounded by the forest of Fontainebleau. “This was not a moment for being superficial.”
21 July 2020
The video that accompanies this latest Isabel Marant men’s collection was shot at the Centre National de la Danse, an exceptional Brutalist building on the northeast outskirts of Paris that, as its name implies, is dedicated to research, practice, and performance. You can’t help but feel a vicarious thrill watching the two youthful models let loose within the solid concrete corridors and stairways, as though they have just emerged from quarantine, expending weeks of pent-up energy in cool new looks. And apropos of the setting, it’s interesting to consider that Marant’s approach to menswear continues to register more freestyle than choreographed.The vibe is consistent from one season to the next—call it L.A.-meets-Marais—without feeling forced. And for spring, looks seemed purposefully fresh. Outerwear was distinctive: a waxed poplin trench and a quilted blouson took cues from the women’s lineup, part of the designer’s intention to create a “transversal” offering. Novelty knits held their own, with little emphasis on tailoring. Pants were cut for optimal ease with low-slung pockets and rolled cuffs. Even a relaxed jumpsuit whose top half can be tied around the waist gave off convincing nonchalance. And all throughout were vivid infusions of color, which, needless to say, had a feel-good quality. See the tie-dye-effect jeans, gradient mohair sweaters, and a bomber pulsing with a stylized ikat pattern.“The clothes really aren’t complicated,” said Marant from her showroom, which was filled with local buyers, as good a sign as any. When it was suggested that she invariably falls back on sporty ’80s references, she mused, “I have a hard time letting go.” But maybe she doesn’t need to; with her leading the dance, it’s easy to follow.
11 July 2020
Isabel Marant rolled out a cream carpet on her runway tonight. Though she is beloved for her bohemian aesthetic, the French designer was clearly in the mood for minimalism. In a sense, the luxurious carpet laid the groundwork for the parade of monochromatic looks to come.If the palette read neutral, the silhouette itself was unmistakably Marant. Almost every shoulder was cut with an ’80s-inspired line, whether it was vintage-y peasant jackets or spangly black party dresses. Even when she’s working with oversized shapes, Marant never loses sight of a woman’s waist. Her trademark styling trick—in which a belt is used to cinch a voluminous jacket—was in full effect on shaggy camel-colored shearling and all-enveloping blanket coats.Though there were touches of wanderlust and whimsy in the woodblock-style floral prints, the collection seemed most evocative of the urban jungle. The slate gray suiting and handkerchief-pleated day dresses were certainly more down-to-business than you’d expect from this brand. That said, the most compelling takeaway in the lineup—a pair of cool, studded slouchy boots—appeared versatile enough for just about any terrain.
27 February 2020
On the continuum of Isabel Marant pre-collections, this one ranks right up there. Occasionally, these lineups can feel a little predictable, which is understandable given the commercial imperative. But this collection conveyed a degree of desirability that could hold its own relative to her runway shows.For one thing, looks attained the ideal balance of sophistication and comfort. Knits with statement shoulders; soft top layers that could be thrown over anything; flattering cropped, high-waisted jeans; and shapely yet unstructured dresses would all be appreciated as wardrobe updates. In these looks, there was less dependence on surface detail and more emphasis on monochromatic directness. “In pre-collections, there can be a lot of layering, but here, I wanted to be very pure,” she confirmed. Compare the black leather quilted vest-shirt-trouser combination at the very end to her days of Parisian-inflected American tropes and it’s actually astounding the degree to which her vision has evolved.As an authority onje ne sais pas, Marant is never quite able to pinpoint how she arrives at the minutiae of these decisions, but she was able to weigh in on the collection’s tight edit. “The idea is real clothes that you want to keep—beautiful architectures that give style without being complicated.”
21 January 2020
Isabel Marant seemed besotted with the models in these photos—new-ish face George Culafic and Alton Mason, who it is an understatement to say, has been making waves. Mainly, she seemed quite chuffed to see them in her clothes, which she summed up as “style but with accessibility.” What she might have added but probably didn’t because it’s always challenging to find words that don’t sound at once hackneyed and smug, is that the magic of this latest Isabel Marant men’s collection is in the way the layering really does appear effortless. And that’s not a given when, unlike myriad other designers right now that are thinking in terms of coordinated looks, this collection comes together from its disparate parts.According to Marant, the pieces here that matter include any of the outdoorsy sweaters, ponchos, and outerwear items that nod to traditional textiles; the worn-in relaxed jeans; the oversized and extra-long corduroy over shirt; a patchwork chambray jumpsuit; and the hoodie-style gray coat in a wonderful boiled wool. Essentially, they bring a more textural, almost rustic counterpoint to the standard urban, sporty wardrobe (which remained well-represented with logo items and attractive ecru jogging-style pants). For customers who want to wear a suit “without looking somonsieur, ” she suggested tailoring in watermelon corduroy and more classic flannel.On the subject of color, the camo rain slicker that looked like vinyl but was actually coated linen didn’t entirely relate to the rest but spiking the lineup like this is right out of the Marant playbook. The gradient orange mohair sweater, meanwhile, is similar to one worn by Drake not so long ago, and with Timothée Chalamet also recently photographed in a pair of Isabel Marant pants, the designer betrayed a modicum of delight about her poster boys.
18 January 2020
No matter the weather, the fantasy of a permanent vacation is never too far away at Isabel Marant. Though rain clouds hovered over her show tonight, the vibe of the new collection was especially hot, with denim short shorts that were cheeky in every sense. It’s a leggy look that’s been rapidly gaining traction in Paris this week, starting with Saint Laurent. And when you consider that France experienced record high temperatures this past summer, with not one but two heat waves, it’s not especially surprising.Marant seemed to be summoning a style-savvy festival girl for Spring, at least in the silhouette. That said, the details were a lot more considered than anything you’d find at Coachella—for one thing, her shorts had artfully scalloped edges. The designer knows her way around a good festival boot, and her slouchy Southwestern pairs were a no-brainer, though it would be hard to imagine revelers teetering around on her classic stiletto-heel sandals all day, even if the ankle bracelets that adorned them had a universal appeal.Marant has perfected the art of the slouchy denim pant, formerly known as the boyfriend jean. With an extra-long inseam, the new, slightly flared style was a nice evolution of the classic peg leg she’s been working for a while. What’s more, it looked just as good on the boys as it did the girls.Marant has cultivated an eternal youthful spirit at her brand, though this season she proved there’s no age limit on that aesthetic. In addition to bombshell Irina Shayk and runway vet Amber Valletta, 46-year-old ’90s supermodel Eva Herzigova made an appearance in one of Marant’s sexy deep-V jumpsuits (and not a Wonderbra in sight!). Models Elsa Hosk and Jourdan Dunn could barely contain their excitement as they cheered from the front row. Still, nobody rocks the look better than Marant herself. She came out to take a bow with her silvery hair swept into a neat bun, dressed in slim gray jeans and a puff-sleeve beige denim jacket, forever the coolest French girl in the room.
26 September 2019
The appointments for Isabel Marant’s main line and her Étoile collection always take place back-to-back, which means that she is invariably describing one by way of the other. “Much chicer, much more dressed,” she said of her main line. No surprise there. But this latest collection offered up some light and lively aspects too. The central motif, for instance, looked like scribbles created with colored markers—playfully artistic and nonfigurative. Marant often likes a flash of metallic, and this season’s silver blouses and boots made sure to signal ’80s rock-star glam. Thanks in part to the angular shapes of shoulders and high-waist jeans, looks gave off legit attitude; they didn’t necessarily read new, but read just right.There was something noticeably right, as well, about the choice of model—her androgynous presentation and seductive body language. Whether in the buttery yellow leather dress and lace tights or a turtleneck and rolled jeans, she was transmitting the type of directness that would speak to those who have always appreciated Marant’s nongirly spin on the Parisienne.It’s worth mentioning that when Marant speaks of dressed, she doesn’t mean dressed up (the stretch-velour one-shoulder dress outlined in strass notwithstanding). Much of this lineup—a long denim jacket lined with faux-rabbit fur, the draped floral dresses, the suits, and obviously those lipstick red boots—consisted of statement pieces that, with little additional effort, could become a complete look. In the end, this wasn’t a paradigm-shifting collection (it didn’t need to be), but it was loaded with references that are uniquely the designer’s.
27 June 2019
During these most recent fashion weeks in Milan and Paris, Isabel Marant hosted two big parties—to celebrate her new Italian flagship and to break ground on her first dedicated men’s boutique in the Marais. Judging from photos, both looked exactly how you’d imagine an Isabel Marant party to look: effortlessly stylish people not taking themselves too seriously.Days later from her Paris showroom, bustling with buyers, she seemed amused by so much socializing within such a short time, admitting that the buzz had its benefits. “I’m not out much and I don’t really share my private life, so when we organize these parties, of course it helps to better understand the brand,” she said.Or, at least, to create an experience around it in the absence of a men’s show. Among the best discoveries this season: a blouson in Prince of Wales suit fabric; watercolor-blocked sweaters; embroidered denim; and a slim, printed jumpsuit. Without trying, the majority of these looks aligned with the continuing shift toward a gentler masculinity, which Marant chalked up to the ongoing influence of her womenswear (specifically, the Étoile range). Look no further than the quilt jacket (not to be confused with quilted) or the slouchy cable knits that are now brand standbys across both categories.As she sees it, though, the menswear should remain within a certain relatable register. “What I offer is super wearable, not too complicated,” she said. “I have no pretensions of proposing high fashion.” While this steadiness is surely appreciated by guys who are buying into the brand on a regular basis, she likely has more leeway to shake things up than she realizes. Maybe next season, whether in lieu of or in conjunction with whatever parties, she’ll make the leap to a presentation.
26 June 2019
Isabel Marant’s nomadic roots always inform her inspiration. More often than not, her muse is the archetypal global traveler with a taste for style and adventure. This evening, the French designer took many of her most recognizable signatures on an urban safari of sorts, conjuring the scene with a palette of sandy neutrals and earth tones that recalled a desert landscape.An ’80s vibe has been in the air across the board this season, which is undoubtedly Marant’s sweet spot: Strong shoulders, nipped waists, and peg legs have long been a recurring theme in the brand’s repertoire. Marant never loses sight of the female form, in fact she’s one of the few designers who can make a turtleneck look sexy—a particularly alluring look from the lineup was a draped, high-neck top that was paired with a charming rock-candy printed wrap skirt. The only insinuation of skin was the tiniest sliver that appeared between thigh-high boot and boho wrap skirt.Neo-bohemianism has been making a tentative comeback on the runway for the last couple of seasons, though for Marant that free-spirited mood never left. The colorful, quilted jackets were reminiscent of classic pieces in her archives, and will likely have success with her fans the second time around. Judging by the French It girls and Parisian editors on the front row, so will those cone-heeled slouchy boots.There’s no doubt that Marant has a winning formula for French girl cool—her best-selling L’Oréal collection of barely there makeup is certainly proof of that, and was a sensation all over the world. Still, it would be nice to see Marant break the mold with the casting of her shows. Her clothes certainly appeal to a wide audience across age, size, and race: representing more of those women on her runway would send a powerful global message.
28 February 2019
“Pluschic,plusdressy,” said Isabel Marant, describing her latest collection using the French word for “more.” But really, no translation is necessary. Season after season, the designer delivers wardrobe standbys imbued with elusive Parisian allure. For Pre-Fall specifically, you might notice subtle silhouette adjustments: detailing at the shoulders or sleeves of blouses and dresses, and pleated pants with just the right waist-to-hip ratio thanks to an integrated snap-front belt.Indeed, these images suggest a renewed emphasis on dresses following the colorful corduroy trousers that were ubiquitous throughout the previous pre-collection. Most of them short and sassy in various prints and unexpected hues of burgundy, orchid, and violet, they offer lively alternatives to the LBDs that are in your closet. What came through in the showroom and is reinforced here is how each piece seems to have built-in attitude: funnel-neck cashmere sweaters with nonchalant slouch; trenchcoats with more dramatic volume; boots that fold over without effort. Sparing you those extra styling steps is no small feat.Compared to the cleaner lines of the chinos, some draping appeared less attractive—and executed to better effect elsewhere. Which is why the leather pants will be worthy of the splurge; ultra-supple with lacing up the sides, they embody what you expect from Marant, which she described as “sophisticated but nonetheless cool.” And you can be sure they will be flattering—yet another plus.
18 January 2019
For her Fall menswear lineup, Isabel Marant went for worn-in comfort—and ended up with a collection that was the sartorial equivalent of putting your feet up on the couch. (A wonderful thought, indeed, for a running-on-fumes menswear editor at the tail end of a lengthy couple of weeks.)Marant has a laid-back way of describing her work, too. “These aren’t show pieces,” she said, frankly. “The aim is something quite casual and workable in an everyday sense.” She pointed out great cargo joggers in sand, olive, or washed raspberry hues; plush and variegated knits; faded “road warrior” trench coats; and a highlight reversible shearling fleece. Some pieces were snazzier, like a collegiate crewneck sweatshirt with prints of people’s signatures or a metallic color-blocked anorak. A thick corduroy baseball jacket had an embroidery of a wolf on its back, along with the wordsI Howl My Love for You.Concluded Marant: “It’s easy! This is not ‘pull your hair out’ fashion—we just want comfort.” It was an effort you could cozy up to.
18 January 2019
Designers have been thinking along escapist lines this season, referencing all the most alluring, hedonistic destinations on the map—Ibiza, Marrakech, et cetera. (You can hardly blame them, given the dire state of the Western world right now.) Isabel Marant has had wanderlust in her veins for decades. Indeed, she practically wrote the book on modern bohemian living. In lieu of boarding a plane for inspiration, however, the French designer bundled her brand into a time capsule for Spring, transporting guests at her show tonight to the last days of disco.This is undoubtedly familiar territory for Marant. With silvery streamers and balloons decorating the space in the Tuileries, the theme of the collection was a dead giveaway before the lights even went up. The likes of Kaia Gerber and Anna Ewers came striding out in shimmering silver going-out tops and micro shorts that seemed purpose-built for the dance floor.Marant never fails to offer up a compelling party boot, and this season there were several variations on her classic take—always slouchy, sometimes studded, and reliably walkable—all destined for retail success. Despite the designer’s globe-trotting instincts, she rarely strays from her tried-and-true formula. To wit, there were many recognizable neo-hippie elements in the collection that spoke to her nomadic impulses, including embroidered bolero jackets and ruffled paisley-print frocks. Marant has successfully managed to export the idea of French-girl cool all over the world, and her new makeup collaboration with L’Oréal is a testament to that. Her Parisian brand of beauty—effortless, natural, undone—still has global appeal and doesn’t appear to be going anywhere anytime soon. Still, it would be exciting to see Marant in discovery mode again sometime soon.
27 September 2018
Many of the pieces in this latest Isabel Marant collection have instant appeal—as in, you will gravitate toward them without overthinking why, and you will want to wear them right away. If you are looking for some excellent seasonless sweaters, blouses that are just a tad come-hither, dresses with varying degrees of ruffles and ruching, and denim that oozes attitude, you will find permutations here to refresh your wardrobe. However, when the most significant update from such a beloved label is a colorful range of wide-wale corduroy, the Isabel Marant faithful fan might come away wondering whether the status quo has become the new normal. “We’re in a perpetual story without end,” said the designer from her Paris showroom overlooking the Place des Victoires. This is one way of saying that, indeed, the brand knows precisely what it does right. The flip side is that fashion is at its best when working against predictability.All that said, a gigot-sleeve LBD and a black one-shoulder top punctuated with pearls stood out as holiday options to dress up or down based on instinct rather than trends. “These looks are all easy to put on and they bring you pleasure,” said Marant. As the company continues to expand its global retail footprint—a new boutique on Rue Saint-Honoré bows next week—more women will be able to drop in for a quick fashion fix.
27 June 2018
Toward the end of what we’ll call a grueling Super Thursday at Paris’s men’s shows, designer Isabel Marant was the radiant pep talk personified needed to get back into the game. From within her multi-floor studio, many were commenting on the somewhat unexpected hecticness of the prior eight or so hours. But she, and her Spring menswear collection, lent the marathon a second wind. Basically, and at this point it pretty much goes without saying, Marant really does have a knack for making clothes that people—now very much including men—want to throw (and leave) on. “Most of us,” she said, “we just dress in a good pair of jeans, a good sweatshirt or sweater. We don’t want to pull our hair out over it.”Her collection, she said, had a twang of a “Cabo-ish, ’80’s feeling, as well as a bit of Americana.” The latter point was seen in patchwork, sun-faded-effect denim jeans and shirting. The former? In lustrous short-sleeve button-downs, and an ornately decorated blue-on-white tunic. There was additionally a clear athleticism, like with a zipped hoodie, color-blocked in washed purple and pink and red, and a simplemaranttext motif surrounded by lines that reminded of retro corporate design. “The thing,” she added, “is to hope to be doing something right at the end of the day.” At the end of alongday, right she did.
22 June 2018
Isabel Marant might be the number one whisperer of Parisian girl cool, largely thanks to her nomadic style impulses. Well-traveled and curious, she’s been assembling references from far-flung corners of the world for decades. This season, she covered familiar territory with a collection that was inspired by the American West. “Barbie and Donald Duck!” said Marant jokingly of her inspiration. “Well no, it was actually about looking at a modern interpretation of the classic Western—more Jim Jarmusch than Clint Eastwood.”Cowboys of every stripe have been on the fashion landscape lately, particularly among European designers. It’s surprising that the style myth of Americana continues to thrive given the epically low international approval ratings of the States right now. Since Trump took office, the U.S. has seen a marked decline in tourism. And yet, the cowboy boot trend is still going strong. To be fair, Marant has always had a thing for sturdy Western soles, and this season, she seized the opportunity to update styles that have been repeat hitmakers for her brand. For example, her popular slouchy thigh-highs were reinforced with a polished metal toe cap, as were the fringed ankle boots.Marant picked up the thread of all the most distinctive Southwestern leitmotifs as far as clothing, with denim shirting, blanket coats, and chunky knits that riffed on Pendleton-inflected patterns. The designer seemed to allude to Jarmusch in some of the oversize suiting, though the most obvious nod to the world of television and movies came in the series of Alexis Colby–worthy cocktail dresses that closed the show. Models bounded out for the final lap with blowouts that fell somewhere between Dallas and Paris (i.e., glamorous but still slightly undone), recalling the Waspy blondes who dominated American pop culture in the ’80s. It would have been nice for Marant’s casting to have reflected a more modern and diverse beauty in her homage to American style.
1 March 2018
Ask Isabel Marant to explain how she arrives at a new collection season after season and she’s often at a loss for words. And that’s just fine; rather than a strategic approach to design, Marant’s seems instinctive—and more so after all these years. With this one, she seemed determined to play down any major statement. “It’s chic but not a big deal,” she said, adding that this well-calibrated wardrobe showed sophistication without formality. “You’re not obligated to dress up.” But to the extent that you can detect dressed up when you see it, details as seemingly minor as a stretch brocade or the peaked, slightly puffed shoulder recurring on blouses and dresses were enough to make a noticeable difference.It would have been impossible to miss the ample pullover in vivid purple, one of many strong colors among the offering (see also: the corduroy pants and jeans in sky blue and jade, and a sexy wrap skirt in lacquered claret). In commercial terms, the variety of prints appearing on wrap dresses, ruched skirts, and twisted-neck blouses will look good in stores as a breezy bridge from mid-June through October.If the review stopped right here, you could be forgiven for thinking this was a particularly colorful proposal, when in fact, many of the monochrome pieces stand a better chance of ending up in your closet. A white leather T-shirt dress backed with black jersey, for instance, reaffirmed Marant’s comment; turn up the cuffs and wear it often. Consider, too, the black dress with a vaguely historical shoulder and longer hemline. For while this collection didn’t serve up any one hero piece, the sleeper hits were plenty.
26 January 2018
“It shouldn’t just be commercial, because that doesn’t interest me.” So said Isabel Marant in June when we met to preview her Resort collection. Back then, orders were being placed for the offering now arriving in stores, and among the mix were certain pieces with undeniable commercial appeal: the cropped, slim black leather pants, a relaxed trenchcoat, and a versatile pair of loafer slides with contrast stitching.But scan through the lookbook images and it becomes clear what the designer meant: After all these years, she can still evoke an ineffable Parisian vibe that pushes wearable fashion beyond the usual standbys. These pictures also reveal that the shoot took place in the immediate vicinity of the brand’s airy showroom with a view to the Place des Victoires—another sign that she was playing up the Parisian message this season. Whereas we perused the racks, pausing on pieces such as the pale, denim-like linen, you’re seeing how that same zip-front jacket and pair of slouchy pants have instant curb appeal as a total look. She singled out the silver-flecked suiting as a holiday party option, yet in the manner of Marant styling, it could easily be dressed down and worn anytime. Meanwhile, the drama was dialed up on shirts thanks to ruffled trim, broderie anglaise paneling, and borders in triangular lace. Her version of a carrot pant felt fresh—at least compared to the quilted items, an idea she continues to revisit.Altogether, the collection came across as cool and confident, with wrap jackets and oversize coats registering more polished than bohemian, even as their shapes were very much relaxed. Marant said her intention was to propose clothes that would be “fresh and easy for the entire season,” and there was no reason to object. Actually, in the spirit of her updated Parisian statement, it seems most fitting to sum up her latest outing as soigné.
15 November 2017
“We always talk about girls borrowing from their boyfriends, but my boyfriend is always borrowingmyclothes,” said Isabel Marant moments before her show. The designer presented a menswear collection alongside her womenswear for the first time today, much to the delight of her nearest and dearest male fans, who have been clamoring for her clothes since the men’s designs she made as part of her wildly successful H&M collaboration. And though this project has long been anticipated, the whole thing came together in just 15 days, after Marant returned from her summer break and had a eureka moment. “I just looked at the pieces and thought, So many things would look great on guys,” she said.There was an endless-summer vibe all over this collection, with Kaia Gerber opening the show in a crisp optic-white blouse with billowing leg-of-mutton sleeves and matching white track pants. Marant cited just two key references for the collection: British lace and sportswear. Though if you had to find an inspirational milieu for the clothes, it might be somewhere between the disco and the beach. There were ’70s-style crochet bikinis layered under denim jackets spliced with broderie anglaise, and anoraks; shiny metallic jumpsuits rolled down to reveal zippered maillots or asymmetric going-out tops, looks that would be ready for the party with a simple shoe change—Japanese-style flip-flops to strappy metallic heels in this instance. There were man-size versions of the thong sandals, jumpsuits, and track pants as well. This was his-and-hers glam-leisure doneà la Française.Marant is arguably the originator of French girl cool, and her distinctive brand of it—a little bit bohemian, a little bit streetwise, a little bit undone, and totally free-spirited—has been in the air this week. With her latest collection, she’s giving more reasons to crush on her all over again.
28 September 2017
Until recently, women in Paris seemed conflicted about leggings. In black with an oversize shirt or blousy dress, sure; as actual pants,bien sur que non. Isabel Marant is as attuned as any French designer to how locals live, so it would make sense that she has noticed the recent shift from viewing fitness as a secret obligation to a point of pride; which, in turn, might explain how ruched sport tights play such a key role in her Pre-Fall looks.Thankfully, the collection is not an exercise in Parisian athleisure. Instead, it proposes an appealing push and pull between polished and relaxed. This is most obvious in the way that a men’s herringbone blazer may appear paired with a lustrous second-skin pant, or how a field jacket features a belt that encircles from within to create a feminine silhouette. Floral fabrics that nod to old wallpaper suggest country; a papery tunic with curve-enhancing stitching unmistakably suggests town. The overlap—see the unexpectedly summery, down-filled fisherman’s vest in a dainty floral, for example—is where Marant shows her originality; it’s unlikely women have something comparable in their existing wardrobes. Same goes for the quilted duster coat with contrast piping, as though it were remade from a mattress pad. If a similar softness plays out elsewhere with undulating hems, rounded sleeves, dimensional trims, and Victorian touches, the styling is consistent with Marant’s insouciant attitude.In a Paris showroom, where Marant presented the offering back in January (like a few other brands, she opted to wait until closer to the clothes’ arrival in stores), she reiterated the challenge of designing wintry clothes that arrive in June. “I’m really trying to show a seasonless collection with fresh and bright colors,” she said, noting the importance of not overthinking things. “It’s something that comes from inside me; it’s intuitive in a way that’s hard to explain.” Which brings us back to the leggings. Marant says she’s never been much of a hosiery gal, whereas these offer “a layering base.” Shown in blue suede or blush jersey with sandals, they’re hardly fitness attire. Yet like some of the clingy wraparound dresses—and as a counterpoint to her signature slouchy sweaters—they signal that those wearing them are in fine form.
18 May 2017
Winter and fall don't necessarily lend themselves to sexy dressing—at least not the straightforward, skin-baring kind—but that doesn’t mean a girl doesn’t want to look hot. Isabel Marant set out to resolve that sartorial conundrum this season, and left the traditional mood-boarding to one side. After all she’s the kind of woman whose instincts for what’s next generally start with her own wardrobe.The Parisian designer has been feeling the idea of a midi-length dress lately, a silhouette that can quickly read dowdy in the wrong hands. Marant drew on the romantic sway of floral prints to loosen up the death-of-sex vibe straight out of the gate, and cinched her plissé patterned frocks with wide black leather belts and frilly leather dickies, which had a vaguely kinky appeal. Marant’s track record for hot-to-trot footwear is pretty hard to beat, and her conical-heeled boots came finished with all manner of appealing embellishments, including party-ready rhinestones. Like many free-spirited women, Marant is not a lover of tights, and her knee-high and thigh-high shapes addressed that issue head on; though even women with a wardrobe full of jeans would be able to enjoy the look of the endless legs in her show, thanks to those over-the-knee, slouchy proportions.And on the topic of legs—or more importantly pants—it certainly wasn’t all about a lean line here, though there were some great skinnies in the mix, including a cocktail hour-worthy pair worn by Gigi Hadid that was studded with crystals. In fact, Marant was just as committed to making the idea of baggy pants alluring. Her slouchy trousers came with plenty of swagger, and she managed to infuse the idea of a classic Wall Street suit with French girl smarts and an hourglass line—Lineisy Montero looked part femme fatale, part tomboy with her waist-whittling double-breasted blazer tucked into pleated high-waisted pants.With a cast of models that included gorgeous ’90s veterans such as Amber Valletta and Carolyn Murphy, Marant proved that her trademark cool aesthetic works just as well for grown-ups. Backstage after the show, she said that she wanted every look to have the ease of a comforter, and beyond the more obvious references to quilts in the lineup, it was clear that each woman on the runway felt good in their own skin and their outfit, regardless of their age. Now what could be sexier than that?
2 March 2017
“Everyday femininity” were the two wordsIsabel Marantused to sum up the spirit of her show tonight. The Parisian designer is very fluent in the language of cool French girl dressing, generally drawing on the experiences she’s had in far-flung, exotic locations to add a twist of wanderlust to each new collection. There were no travel photos on her inspiration board, though, for Spring, or any of the historical muses she’s conjured in seasons past. In fact, the combo of sporty, utilitarian, and vaguely bohemian references was grounded in the way working women zip about a city like this one, moving between the office to the gym to cocktail hour and back again.The shoes—a hybrid of a Pilates sock, kitten heel, and Japanese sandal—gave the clothes their footing in the most literal way, and replaced the tomboy boots she has previously favored. The designer admitted that she’d been feeling the idea of dresses more than usual, and the best of the lot were as romantic and flirty as the designer gets: replete with ruffles, covered in Liberty London-style floral prints, and finished with the billowing statement sleeves we’ve seen all over the runways for Spring. Don’t expect Marant to stop wearing her cool pants anytime soon, though; the high-waisted styles she presented today were cut with an appealing and familiar slouch—slightly pegged at the ankle and loose through the thigh. The workwear details—patch pockets, contrast stitching, exposed zippers, and such—were an added bonus. The silhouette had the ease of jeans, and looked especially good on Arizona Muse, who wore the pants with a crisp cotton peasant blouse. The designer loves a good boilersuit, too, and here, they were either rolled down to the waist or cinched with corsets.Yes, Marant has always had a knack for styling, but she doesn’t lose sight of practicality in her clothes, either. As a veteran model and mom, Muse would appreciate that many of the cotton and linen pieces were just as machine-washable as her gym gear and baby clothes. Ready-to-wear in the truest sense.
29 September 2016
Isabel Marant didn’t try to force a theme during a walk-through of her Resort offering. Rather, she touched on all the usual pre-collection talking points: the desire for smart transitional pieces, the opportunity to reach a broader customer, the “reflection” of a wardrobe, and so forth. Under other circumstances, this may have come across as uninspired; but after weeks of covering Resort, this reporter greatly appreciated her direct approach. Besides, reinterpreted, covetable basics are Marant’s forte; why try to cast them as anything else? To this extent, the waxed black belted jacket and a slightly longer style in papery metallic leather with a concealed placket were the collection’s hero pieces, followed closely by the two wool topcoats juxtaposed with lighter linen linings, and the stretch tunic dress with flattering front ruching (smartly shown over black pants). Volumes were properly balanced: Just when a pencil skirt or long sweater tunic suggested a downward thrust, a weightless puffer or quilted gilet would keep things lifted.Marant mused that the floral print splashed across a “pompier” (fireman) jumpsuit and the striped cotton reminded her of bedding—even more so when factoring in the down layers and the crochet trim along the vents of an elongated white shirt. While this enveloping, nesting notion had the makings of a theme, the overall impression was too chicly composed, not quite slouchy enough. At one point, she tossed out the word “spontaneity,” which struck as a suitable alternative to effortless. And really, it’s to her credit that little else needed to be said.
11 July 2016
It’s been a matter of months sinceFrance was hit by a series of terrorist attacks, and the heightened security checks at fashion shows this past week have been a stark reminder that Paris is still smarting from those wounds.Isabel Marantconceived of her latest collection in the wake of that devastation, and found herself mining personal memories of a simpler, more innocent time in the city for inspiration. “It really goes back to when I would sneak out, aged 15, to punk clubs like Le Palace and Les Bains Douches,” said the designer backstage. “With all the sadness that has happened in Paris, it felt like the time was right to party and have fun.”The ’80s were a good moment for club-kid fashion, and Marant cherry-picked from the best parts of their DIY uniform this season. Mannish oversize coats in tweeds and Prince of Wales check of varying sizes were belted or studded with pins, and the ruffled collars of sweet Victorian-style blouses peeked up from under lapels. Dubbed the queen of the punks, French ’80s icon Edwige Belmore, who passed away last fall, figured large on Marant’s mood board, though the quirky combo of argyle polos, tennis sweaters, and padlock chains spoke directly to counterculture rumblings across the water in the U.K. As it happens, Marant was one of many wide-eyed French teenagers who made the pilgrimage to Malcolm Mclaren’s World’s End store in London, the original epicenter for fashion rebels.Disruption has been a major talking point this season, from a business standpoint as well as a creative one. It’s perhaps why the anarchic energy of the early ’80s is resonating right now. There was undoubtedly a shift of sorts for Marant, who tends to let her bohemian global-nomadic instincts guide her. Wherever she chooses to roam though, her knack for mixing and matching what cool girls want to wear rarely fails her. The buckled animal-print pixie boots and ballet flats, for example, are destined to be feel-good accessories for stylish city-dwelling women the world over.
4 March 2016
Isabel Marant’s showroom was bustling, but her new knee-high boots stood out like a beacon in bright shades of red, green, and blue—“the colors of Legos,” Marant said. After several years’ dominance of the ankle boot, designers are deciding it’s time for a new shape, and Marant is leading the charge. Leading is a condition she’s used to. Might it be one reason she’s opted not to share her pre-season pictures until now? Actually, she said it’s less to do with the issue of copying than it does overexposure. Generally speaking, there’s just too much stuff. Lucky for Marant and lucky for us, she’s got the touch.Beyond the knee-high boots, there were several other silhouette-shifting pieces worth mentioning. Among them, a high-necked Victorian blouse (in the air elsewhere recently), tie-front pants with a generous, slightly rounded shape through the leg, and a midi-length black leather wrap skirt. Marant is better known for her frilly minis, but there’s a first time for everything. After much cajoling both internally and externally, she’s finally launched a proper bag business. They don’t have a starring role in the lookbook, but we bet the practical yet clever styles in a range of three different leathers, from supple to sturdy, will see a lot of action on the streets.
28 January 2016
Isabel Marantpulled together a thumping ’80s hip-hop soundtrack for her show today, even though the influences on her new collection skewed more North India than South Bronx. The Parisian designer has made a name for herself by filtering that elusive French girl cool through a distinctly global lens: She was a seasoned traveler from an early age, thanks to her bohemian upbringing, and has a knack for cherry-picking, and then deftly reconfiguring, dress codes and traditions from all four corners of the planet. For Spring, Marant’s divining stick led her to the rich, colorful textiles of Rajasthan. It’s a place the designer has visited for inspiration in the past, but given the free-spirited, eccentric ’70s moods that seems to be lingering in the air on the runways, that milieu still feels relevant.That being said, the silhouettes recalled the rounded, billowy shapes of the ’80s overall. Style-conscious festival girls who have spent the summer in breezy, vintage-inspired peasant blouses will be swapping out their skinny jeans for harem pants come spring if Marant has her way. The MC Hammer favorite isn’t exactly the easiest look to pull off, but in this case the styling was right: Layered up with sequined leggings and elevated with Gorky-style heels, the look took on a new vibe.What with all the sparkling textiles that have been around in the collections, somehow a Lurex gold jumpsuit gathered at the ankle, rolled down to the waist, and worn with a lightweight sweater felt right for now. The global nomad hand of the clothes might have been familiar territory for Marant, but it’s still likely to give her fans a reason to revisit her store.
2 October 2015
Try to come up with a bigger runway-to-real-life hit than the Isabel Marant wedge sneaker. You can't, can you? No other shoe has affected what women wear on the street—for good and bad (there are a lot of awful copies)—more than her trainers with the hidden lifts. We bring it up because Marant unleashed high-waisted jeans on her Fall runway today. We've been seeing them at the high end of the designer fashion spectrum for a season or so, and they've been embraced by early adopters. But if they're going to go wide, it'll be because Marant did them her way.Marant's way is super-high-waisted, with an extra band of denim—fitted but not corset-tight—creeping up toward the rib cage. She showed the jeans belted over everything from silk peasant blouses to fitted sweaters of the cable-knit and marinière-stripe variety, with a stacked-heel, strappy ankle boot. They looked capital-S Sexy on the twentysomethings stalking the designer's Palais de Tokyo venue, but Marant was wearing them backstage, too. As she pointed out, "I'm not 20, and I don't have a butt like these girls do." Still, she was looking pretty hot herself. There were other things worth calling out on her catwalk, not least of all the blouson-cut, blanket-motif jackets. But it's the jeans that are going to reverberate.
6 March 2015
No matter what Isabel Marant is looking at—American cowboys, Elvis Presley, the Navajo tribe—what it all boils down to is what she and her cool-girl clients want to wear. She changes the filter, but the formula is basically foolproof: a little skirt, a slouchy jean, hero pieces like this season's shaggy, swaggering fringed coat and vest—all of it oozing the offhand,How to Be Parisian Wherever You Arevibes that Marant's countrywoman Caroline de Maigret writes about in her new book.The lens Marant used for Spring was modern art, specifically painters like Joan Miró and Antoni Tàpies, whose graphic work led her in the direction of Africa—"tribal without being too literal" is how the designer described what she was going for. The show started with clean tailoring à la Marant: a black judo jacket cinched with a wide leather belt, white eyelet jeans, another jacket with strong shoulders in a black-and-white print that looked like graffiti or ancient cave markings. By its midway point, the collection took on an earthier tone, with rust and sunset orange, fringing, raffia, and rope treatments. Hell, there were even puka shells. It never felt too obvious, though. And it never looked hard to wear, not even the raffia macramé sweater and fringed skirt. Marant has her look down cold.
26 September 2014
Isabel Marant's capsule collection for H&M sold out in less than a day back in November—done and dusted. Lately, though, her runway shows have felt a little tentative; they haven't quite delivered the Marant magic the way they used to. Today, Devo's "Girl U Want" was ringing out from the speakers, and Marant got her groove back. The new collection was streetwise and sexy in the ways we expect from her. She didn't exactly chart a new course, but she tried unexpected things.First up: a belted, high-waisted, loose-fitting, laced-at-the-side pant that was just about as night and day with her familiar low-slung skinnies as you could get. Those pants set the tone. "I never have feelings for fancy, frilly things in the winter," Marant said backstage. "I like very comfortable, warm clothes—things you can go around being secure in." So out went Spring's pretty pink ruffles and in came army-green everything: belted jackets, oversize sweaters, sparkly sequined minis, and more cool-looking slouchy pants in soft quilted leather. Somehow, Marant has managed to avoid grunge until now, but late to the party or not, the plaid shirts and pants she had here jibed with her repertoire. The exuberantly folded and peaked shoulders of a couple of tweed jackets weren't as easy a fit. Still, it was good to see Marant stretch a bit.
27 February 2014
Isabel Marant is about to get the H&M treatment, following in the footsteps of labels like, most recently, Maison Martin Margiela and, going back a few more years, Stella McCartney and Karl Lagerfeld. Not bad company. Marant's new collection for the fast-fashion giant is launching in November following a big Paris bash. Maybe that's why this collection found the designer reengaging with the tough-yet-romantic trope that first started her down the road to mega-success. As she reminded us backstage, "It's the contrast of two ideas that I'm always trying to work with."The first look out put that statement into motion, with its strong-shouldered black jacket counterpointing a not-much-longer lacy white slip of a dress. In other instances, Marant paired her frothy white tops (like designers elsewhere, she's embraced the ruffle) with black leather. Side-laced leather pants looked edgier than usual for her. But for every step she took toward the dark side, Marant took another into the light. Painterly blooms on frilly chiffon looked positively sweet. Then, again, by the end of the collection she was back into the grommets and sequins. Grommets covered the season's new shoe, a suede Mary Jane/bootie hybrid that didn't quite work. The collection's lasting impression was of a baby pink ruched and ruffled jacket paired with sexy white eyelet jeans. Sweet, but with a serious bite—that's the essence of Isabel for Spring.
26 September 2013
After her Elvis in Hawaii and urban cowgirl shows, Isabel Marant's new Fall collection was surprisingly simple, plain even. The look was built on layers of fine-gauge and ribbed knits in black, ivory, or navy, worn over minis so short you could barely call them skirts or over leggings. Not leather leggings, mind you, but the stretchy kind you roll out of bed in to go walk the dog or pick up your morning latte.If the legwear seemed like an unlikely must-have, there were a few contenders here for waiting-list-only status. Nothing on the level of her wedge sneakers, but the wedge boots in ponyskin with Velcro straps will have customers whipping out the plastic. Stud-covered suede jackets and pelmet skirts, meanwhile, channeled the bohemian free-spiritedness that has made this designer's name synonymous with French cool the world over. On the other side of the coin, Marant showed some very smart tailoring in the form of structured coats borrowed from the boys and cool shearlings.All in all, a mixed bag, though Marant is probably smart to try to stay one step ahead of her customer by trading in her popular Americana-inflected eclecticism for something more stripped-down.
28 February 2013
Isabel Marant is French to her core, but she sure does have a fascination with Americana. As a follow-up to her cowgirl-at-the-rodeo show of last season—a collection that's trending big in the front rows this week—Marant looked at old pictures of Elvis, from his early days in Hawaii to his last Las Vegas hurrah, mixing them up with a few snapshots of Brigitte Bardot and Jane Birkin in Saint-Tropez.Marant loves easy, casual pieces for summer, but what we saw on the runway today often looked surprisingly similar to her easy, casual pieces for winter. The embellished jeans, the quilted and embroidered coats, the lacy little separates—they all made reappearances. This time, instead of tooled suede and Western fringe, they were mixed in with black and white tropical floral-print shorts and button-down tops knotted at the midriff along with one-shoulder shirred dresses in bohemian paisleys.Marant is keyed in to the fashion Zeitgeist, no doubt about that. She opened a new store on the Left Bank this week, and the long-awaited Melrose Place shop in Los Angeles will finally open early next year. All that floor space requires merchandise to fill it, and we have little doubt this collection will connect with shoppers the way previous ones have. Still, the designer runs the risk of repeating herself. What looked fresh: bathing suits worn as ready-to-wear. They'll be big in L.A. We're looking forward to seeing more new ideas like that one next time.
27 September 2012
Isabel Marant is opening her second U.S. store this September on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles. No wonder the French designer came up with a frontier-girl theme for Fall. Marant loves Americana, and so do the fans: Her Navajo-inspired knits from last year are still going strong. This time around, the look is girlier—more Calamity Jane than Buffalo Bill, what with all the lace doily tops and the pleated and frilled silk miniskirts. We're talking about well-trodden ground here, no doubt, but Marant makes it new.Something about her relaxed yet sexy approach gives an item as clichéd as a yoked cowgirl shirt an instant It quality. And the studded, embroidered, and quilted jean jackets? They're collector's items, capable of spawning miles-long wait-lists at her shops. The fashion cognoscenti have started to find the slouchy yet skinny jeans, the half-tucked shirts, and the tooled leather ankle boots a bit too predictable, but it's hard to argue with the cool factor of a red leather top laser-cut in an eagle design, or an Ultrasuede dress with the same motif picked out in micro-studs. But it wasn't all familiar territory, either. Amid the shrunken this and the fitted that, the oversize cavalry coats looked like a growth opportunity.
1 March 2012
If you're looking for an antidote to all of the ladylike clothes destined for stores next Spring, Isabel Marant will be your gal. Pretty and sweet aren't her thing; sexy and earthy are more like it. No nipped-waist dresses here. Instead, she said backstage, she was thinking about what a girl traveling around the world for her summer holidays would pack in her ideal suitcase.Marant's trip kicked off in the U.S. of A. It was spelled out in block letters on the back of her slouchy football jerseys. Then there were the stripey track pants, and the hoodies and tank dresses knit together from shredded old sweatshirts. Nobody does comfort clothes quite likeles américains. But Marant's girl is a global traveler, so there were also Rajasthani embroideries on vests and dresses tie-dyed using Indian techniques. Jeans are always an essential part of this designer's story; today they looked like they'd been dip-dyed in bleach, scribble-printed, or stamped with a python pattern that looked like a callback to one of her big hits from a couple of years ago.Which raises the questions: Is Marant's formula becoming a little formulaic? Or is she just giving us girls what we want? It's too early to say for next Spring, but a quick tally of her Navajo jeans and fringed boots from Fall in the front rows this month suggests the latter for now.
29 September 2011
Go Navajo. That was the message from Isabel Marant, who shifted her focus from last season's California surfers to Native Americans on the runway today. Hey, as they say, it's the land of opportunity. Marant may be French to the bone, but she's embraced of late the kind of sportswear we're known for stateside: jeans, sweaters, sweatshirts. Season to season, she just shakes up the surface treatments. Given her reference point, we're talking about printed and real feathers and miles and miles of fringe for Fall. "And because wherever Indians are, cowboys aren't far behind," she joked backstage, "there's lots of denim."That denim came in the form of patchwork button-downs and vests and dark-washed oversize jackets that read more gangsta than cowboy, but it's the white jeans with the red and black Navajo embroidery that could be contenders in the season's It item sweepstakes (the satin baseball jackets from Marant's Spring collection have that honor this week in Paris). The news on the runway included masculine overcoats made from a dense blanketlike wool, and she gave shearling a hip edge by treating it as a practical layering piece under hardworking parkas.Ultimately, though, too much here read costumey—see the suede dresses at the end of the show—even if Marant probably has a hit on her hands with those fringed wedge-heel boots.
3 March 2011
Before her show, Isabel Marant said that it's been hard to keep her New York store, which opened this spring, stocked with merchandise: "As soon as a new shipment comes in,pfff, it's gone." The designer's special skill is sniffing out how the cool girls want to dress before they know it themselves, and that has made her pointy-toed bow pumps a very frequent sight at the shows this month. One glance at today's catwalk and there's little doubt the front-row types will next be angling to wear her pointy-toed slouchy boots with friendship-bead anklets.Marant took her first trip to California earlier this year and fell in love with its chill vibe. This collection, she said, was an ode to surfing and the early days of skateboarding. That seventies feeling meant there were cutoffs in denim or corduroy with everything from bright check button-downs to shrunken fisherman sweaters to lacy tanks. Sports references came fast and furious: A vintage-looking silk baseball jacket in embroidered washed silk was followed by nipped and fitted rugby-stripe dresses and slightly oversize football-jersey tees. On the more girly side, Marant's signature cropped jacket was cut from red bandanna fabric, and a strapless dress was smocked from a Liberty-esque purple floral print.High concept it isn't. But with her usual acuity, Marant has landed on a look that meshes with a major Spring trend. If you can remember back that far, California cool got a lot of play in New York. It looked believable here in Paris, and it's entirely likely it will do gangbusters in her stores.
30 September 2010
Isabel Marant fans may want to sit down before reading this: There wasn't a studded, cuffed suede ankle bootie in sight on her Fall runway. The signature boots have inspired instant wait lists around the world and sell out within hours of arriving in stores, but backstage Marant said she was ready for a change.The pointy-toed pumps with the floppy bows on the sides weren't her only news. Like plenty of other designers, she's been riffing on the eighties for a couple of seasons with much success, but for Fall she was thinking fifties. As in: fitted jeans rolled up mid-calf, a faded denim jacket, a sparkly tee, cat-eye eye liner, a high ponytail, and long dangly earrings.Marant threw in a silver lamé party dress and draped and wrapped miniskirts here and there, but the show was essentially a teasing out of the many different ways to riff on that core look. There was a stripey rugby sweater worn with short silver paillette leggings, a leather-sleeved baseball jacket with cropped red motorcycle leather pants, a white rabbit jacket and black capris, and so on. If it came off as repetitive to the in-crowd at the show, there were enough sexy/easy/shiny bits to have Marant's followers thronging to her about-to-open Soho boutique, It boots or no.
4 March 2010
If you want to find out what the cool crowd will be wearing next season, there's no better place to look than the Isabel Marant show. For proof, you need only to have clocked top editors wearing the silk python-print frock from her Fall collection in the front rows all this week. For Spring, Marant imagined her girls on a trip around the world, picking up feather earrings, chain-mail scarves, and other treasures along the way, which means that boho pirates may soon be replacing rocker chicks in fashion capitals all over the globe. Prepare yourself for tie-dye, stripey Lurex, and an abundance of hot pink.Marant's Spring collection is a little looser and a lot more colorful than Fall, but her formula for success is basically unchanged. The show was packed with the kind of item-y, sexy little pieces that are designed to give a girl's wardrobe an instant update. The strong-shouldered jacket was back, but this time with crafty embellishments around the neckline. Pants came shiny and draped, or tight and striped with lacing at the ankles. And the cuffed pirate boot—boots being an essential component of the designer's leggy look, even in summer—were dripping with fringe and chains around the ankles. The New York chapter of Marant's fan club will have a direct line on all of it when the store she's been talking up for so long finally opens in Soho early next year.
1 October 2009
Before we all quit shopping, Isabel Marant's Left Bank boutique was an important stop on the Paris circuit. In fashion speak, she "makes clothes that girls want to wear." Meaning they're not necessarily the kind that get photographed for glossy fashion spreads in magazines, but editors and retailers alike appreciate the streetwise way Marant mixes elegant and casual. Take the first look at the Fall show, a fur coat with cool three-quarter-length sleeves over one of her slouchy T-shirts and baggy silk python-print pants, which were tucked into sexy over-the-knee suede boots.Marant said the attitude was glam rock meets London bad boys, circa the late fifties and early sixties. That added up to a leopard-print dress and a sweatshirt-gray jumpsuit worn with oversize men's jackets in tweed or herringbone, with big shoulders and sleeves rolled up to the elbows; and a belted little black dress with slashes of white paired with studded ankle boots. Layered in among her sweatshirts and denim jeans and minis were new-looking, softly ruched and gathered long skirts, and drop-waist silk shirtdresses. Apparently, her hard-rocking chicks have a little hippie in them. They're all priced to sell like crazy at the new stores she's scheduled to open in Los Angeles and New York this summer. With the exception of the shiny leggings with zips up the side, which made even the models look wide, sell is indeed what they'll do.
5 March 2009