Austerity is loudly knocking on the door everywhere and Stefano Pilati may have articulated that in the most extreme form at the YSL show. The show was about a "natural and honest chic, an understated elegance" and whist there were things that tick that box; the peasant blouses, open back tunics, Puritan-like capes, apron cuts and A-lines, they were also offset with uneasy erotic elements; leather cut-out shorts, bows running up the backs of tights, strapped in bed-sheet configured dresses and of course dangerously sharp shoes. A wee reference to the late Yves came in the form of a scattered strawberry embroidery that was only used lightly. Beyond the uneasy peasant girl, there were also fantastic fabric research elements like a thermo-bonded jersey boucle that looked like neoprene in white boxy jackets, circular pleat embellishments on waistcoats and a three dimensional cotton crochet, used to great effect on a black sheer top with attached cape.
Photography by Angela di Paolo
