Carven Pre Fall 2013

Oh Carven, let me count the ways I love you. If there were ever a brand more synonymous with Parisian cool I’d like to see it. Every time I lay eyes on one of Guillaume Henry’s collections I think he can’t possibly out do himself next season yet somehow he always manages it.

For Pre Fall 2013 the designer has concocted an array of elegant separates, sweet shift dresses and slouchy-yet-sleek outerwear that simply exude inousouciance. Texture play is a major theme with mottled wool coats teamed with print silk dresses and chunky ribbed tights prepping up luxe leather pieces. As usual there are skirt suits a’plenty but as well as the geek chic styles we all know and love sat a sculptural, quasi futuristic metallic green ensemble. Cute collars, another Carven trademark, also feature highly adding a quirky edge to tailored camel wool and exquisite lace confections. But while Henry has stayed true to the design motifs we all know and obsess over endlessly I’d say this (pre) season, he’s decided to get a little more experimental. Skirts and biker jackets have been given a modern twist with slick, cut-away sides and feminine frocks are awarded an air of androdgyny by way of oversized, boyish parkas. As for the red leather tuxedo style number… Frankly, I’m speechless. For a designer credited with turning a long-forgotton couture house into one of the hottest contemporary brands around, these deviations from the adored Carven DNA was something of a risk but boy, hasn’t it just turned out beautifully?

Love Ella. X