PAUL & JOE – Spring/Summer 2017

PAUL & JOE - Spring/Summer 2017

PAUL & JOE : Forges Own Style Path for the Season

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October 9, 2016

By Marcellous L. Jones

Photos by Frank Barylko

St. Petersburg, Russia – Spring is the time when the French fashion house Paul & Joe comes alive most. Each season the house puts forth collections that are “women friendly”. Generally that are always liberated from all hints and undertones of pretence. And with a free spirit and a innate note of music, we have automatically the keys for comprehending the real nature of the house’s aesthetics.

This season Paul & Joe ‘s founder and creative director, Sophie Méchaly, has found inspiration in the rebellious spirit of the early 1990s grunge movement, which not only infected music, but fashion itself ! In relating this hard edge to femininity of the Paul & Joe woman, Méchaly allowed her prints to take note from the work of Andy Warhol. And the floral prints are based on photography, yet with what the house calls ” a contemporary modernity”.

Clean stripes and geometric forms are combined with a fabrics base consisting of silk twill, silk chiffon, cotton voile and crushed silks. The result is a composition of appreciable silhouettes that are easy to comprehend and easy to wear. Their lines are again inspired by grunge, which indeed did have its own rightful share of minimalist lines.

This writer must also note his particular enjoyment of the singular path that Paul & Joe has carved out for itself this season. As all know by now, most fashion houses are depending on their bandwagon ride attachment to the dominant trend of ruffles this season. Paul & Joe – a house that clearly understands both the desires of and needs of its clientele – has opted almost ignore that trend completely. It instead has decided to create silhouettes of amply cut pants with straight lines, decorated T-shirts, maxi-dresses, embellished tank tops and two-toned patchwork pieces (jackets, pants and skirts) in denim. And to round out the collection, it has also created a selection of accessories that include fun hats, bracelets, bracelets and feather earrings.