Have you ever had a coat so lush you just felt that you could live in it?
That’s exactly the sensation Icicle creative director Bénédicte Laloux wanted to tap into for the fall collection of the brand’s 12-year-old upscale Atelier line. Presented for the first time outside of China, it is available alongside a selection from Icicle’s other lines for international wholesale from Monday.
“It’s the idea that in your coat or sweater, you find the same reassuring and benevolent impression that you have at home,” she said.
Further leaning into the seaon’s overarching idea that “everything starts from home,” the brand recreated an art-filled interior in its under-construction flagship at 6 Rond-Point des Champs-Élysées, at the foot of the building that will soon house the Parisian headquarters of its ICCF parent group.
Models mingling among the guests showcased pieces such as double-faced cashmere coats; organza scarf-collared blouses left loose over fluid slacks, or a fuzzy grandpa cardigan in brushed cashmere. All warranted a closer look and a touch on the racks.
Equally interesting was hearing Laloux talk of developments such as the water-repellent silk and wool mix that owed its properties to its fibers and weave rather than additional treatments and used for a generous country jacket with a softly ballooning back.
“What is more the ‘natural way’ than wearing natural fabrics and cuts that allow for natural movements?” the designer said.
Breezy as it looked and as lofty as its ideals are, Laloux’s work is not without whimsy.
Accessories included elbow-length organza gloves inspired by heavy-duty kitchen ones while a hardy silk bag had a passing resemblance to a grocery bag.
With a price range of 250 to 4,650 euros, with a core in the 500 to 900 euros range, one way to describe Icicle Atelier is quiet luxury. That silk-wool weave is one whisper worth leaning closer to hear.
