Isabel Marant took us on a road trip across Ibiza this season, with surf and sun central themes to the collection full of soft tailoring.
All the colors of dusk in the Mediterranean sky such as soft pink, pale peach and chalky blue were at play. Last season’s butter yellow appeared even more sun-bleached in a creamy banana. Elsewhere dusty earth tones took root.
The line, led by creative director Kim Bekker, played with prints to refine the travelogue. Florals were laser printed on denim and then washed out and texture was added with western motif embroidery chain-stitched on sleeves and collars. A satin bomber read like an old-fashioned “Wish You Were Here” postcard with retro graphics at the back.
This season’s silhouette was slimmer, yet more relaxed and tactile. Dekker has softened her tailoring, along with a new shoe silhouette in an on-trend, thin-soled sleeker sneaker style. Moccasins took a feminine turn with fringe, and other accessories such as tie-dyed rope belts with metal beading also added this note.
Dekker added her ‘80s edge with rib-waisted jackets in washed denim and a subtly pinstriped canvas, while elsewhere, a washed poplin pant and coordinating jacket invoked workwear cues. A swim short was in the lineup — not a first for the brand, but the trendy thigh-high cut gave it a new visibility and popularity this season.
The brand continues to blur gender norms with structured softness, evidenced by the presence of Ateez’s Seongwha, who walked the runway last season and appeared in the global print campaign. Capturing a bit of that K-pop magic worked well for the brand’s sales, Dekker said.
“There’s no other brand that really proposes this for men,” Dekker said of the embroidered denim and soft structure. “We know that it is a complicated market, but sales are just going higher. That’s why the color schemes and also the workwear pieces are quite important, because that’s not so much out in the market and [our clients] really come looking for it.”
