Paris Fashion Week: Isabel Marant AW18

It wasn’t Isabel Marant’s first time at the rodeo. It’s an aesthetic that has infiltrated her collection since she began her eponymous brand in 1994 and has garnered her notoriety and a firm following.

The show opened with a brand favourite, prairie girl and Germanic beauty Anna Ewers strode down the wooden saloon styled runway in a frontier stripe coat, cinched in at the waist with a silk buckle belt and paired with metal toe cap boots. A heavy roll knit peeped out of the leather collar, legs remained bare and hair and make up natural. It was, for all sorts, a typical Marant look.

There’s something soothing about a collection with no frills. Quality clothes and impeccable styling don’t need for much more, and as Dolly Parton’s Jolene streamed through the sound system, a sense of calm passed through the room. The collection felt natural, organic, a seamless progression from Isabel Marant SS18.

Clean white cotton prairie shirts, deconstructed minis and oversized denim were the basics needed to build a look but bright orange leather co-ordinates, tight snakeskin trousers and oversized calfskin sweats made it. Outerwear was, of course, present in the heavy mannish coats, floor length capes and oversized white fur, complete with Aztec print. There was an abundance of leather in the form of worn double breasted blazers, fringed suede sleeved, tapered trousers, and long open waistcoats.

Accessories were in keeping with the apparel. Supple leather hobo bags and structured cross bodies didn’t detract from the organicity from the collection. Each placement was carefully considered, from the steel capped cowboy boots to the perforated holster-style waist belts.

As ever with Marant there was glitz and glam. Iridescent ruched mini dresses, complete with padded shoulders and oversized sleeves, one shoulder PVC LBD’s and sheer, plunging tops brought saloon-styled glamour. And, as the show closed, and Isabel took her bow, there was a sense of disappointment, that we’d have to wait another six months to own any of the looks presented.