If you’re only going to spend 15 minutes with Gauchere’s clothes this season, designer Marie-Christine Statz would rather you did it in the brand’s offices rather than see them zip past on a runway.
How else are you going to find out that a trouser and tank top set owe their breezy crinkle to a combination of silk, cotton and metallic thread, or that a blazer has a discrete elasticated line that nips the waist in subtly?
The starting point was Statz’ desire to give depth to her usual pared back cuts through colors and materials, as well as a second chapter of the collaboration with French eyewear label Ahlem. For the clothes, she used a palette of soft washed tones in sheer materials as filter-like overlays on a foundation of blacks and light neutrals.
Summer-weight fabrics like parachute silk, cottons and linen-viscose mixes were used to make tailored separates feel impervious to a change in season.
“What guided me was the idea of 24/7 versatility,” said Statz. “More than ever, I wanted to tap into the dialogue between formal and casual, particularly because summer is [about] seasonless drops.”
Case in point: a jumpsuit was cut from waxed cotton, giving it a lighter summer-appropriate hand – and price point Statz quipped.
It was a reminder that not only is Statz a dab hand at tailoring, she’s also astute when it comes to fitting her 11-year-old brand to the industry’s current cloudy outlook.
