Fall saw Paris-based Longchamp creative director Sophie Delafontaine once again showing her collection in New York. In fact, it’s the affinity between those two cities, Paris and New York, that her new collection zeroed in on.
“The idea was to take the Parisian attitude and silhouettes and mix it with the New York sensibility, which is more urban and graphic,“ she said backstage.
The show space set the stage in a massive Financial District lobby complete with a runway with a carpet inspired by one made by French interior designer Andrée Putman for the iconic Concorde.
Longchamp RTW Fall 2019
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Suffice to say, Delafontaine has logged a lot of air miles between the two cities and she knows what type of clothing works. She made her case with light printed silk dresses, a mix of knit shapes, loose, flowing tops and bottoms and outerwear with sheepskin. The assortment leaned heavily into the bohemian Parisian in the Seventies, with its mix of prints and textures. Leather accents added a touch of urbanity.
The designer launched a new type of branding, debuting a new “LGP,” a bold graphic white and black print that she said was inspired by Bauhaus artists and New York City’s grid. It found its way onto leather pieces, coats and some embroidered tulle, which had an alluring transparency.
The theme of travel was imbued into Delafontaine’s accessories, too, like new iterations of the brand’s signature Le Pliage bag or the new Voyageuse, which is shaped like a vanity case. It comes in small and large, suitable for a long weekend or an overnight getaway.
Girls who aspire to look like face-of-the-brand Kendall Jenner, who sat front row along with Kate Moss, will find plenty of options to interpret that sort of international jet-set style.