Fe Noel (Q3115)

No one buys clothes to feel down, nevertheless, even when our hearts are breaking, we still need to get dressed. But as fashion is a glossy, feel-good industry that tends to the positive, that’s not something that’s spoken about much. Fe Noel, spurred by personal experience, dared to go there this season with a beautiful and emotive collection that gave a more honest view of the messiness and complexity of life as it is lived.“Joy doesn’t mean absence of pain, and pain doesn’t mean absence of joy,” said the designer. “I’m a fairytaleist; I’m always thinking about how to make my life beautiful, how to create the life that I want to live. My life was going so great, and then a tragedy happened and I had to think about it in a different way, I had to say, ‘What am I supposed to learn here?’ And that’s when I was like, it’s important for me to tell that story, especially for anyone that’s down and feels like they don’t see a light at the end of the tunnel.”It was by design that the show, dedicated to Lydia George, opened and closed with two versions of “La Vie en Rose,” by Grace Jones and Louis Armstrong, respectively.To convey her message, Noel organized the spring show into three acts. The first was Softness, a theme epitomized by the opening look, a bias cut slip dress with sensuously cascading ruffles that moved with the mesmerizing lightness of a jellyfish. This section had a palette that started with palest peach, deepened to a rich brown, and had a touch of metallic gold. Countering the flow of a lingerie look and body-skimming ruched pieces was a more structured corset top and pants in taupe silk.From this peak, Noel proceeded into a valley of darkness for the anguish-themed middle section. “I really use this act to express my pain,” said the designer. “Of course I want [the audience to] see beautiful clothes, but I also want them to see [that] I made this when I was in a painful place, but something beautiful could still come from it.” The Smiths once sang, “I wear black on the outside / ‘Cause black is how I feel on the inside,” and that’s the hue Noel chose for this group, accented with touches of ivory. The deep inky richness of the color called attention to the smart tailoring the designer introduced, including for men. The attached armlet sleeve looks like it might turn into a trend for spring 2023 and Noel’s evoked full-blown roses.