It was a welcome return to the runway for Danish designer Cecilie Bahnsen — her first official showing on the Paris schedule. “You’ll finally see the textures, the fabrics, the movement, again,” she enthused during a preview.
Inspiration this season came from Danish poet Tove Ditlevsen, whose works Bahnsen studied at school, informing the hazy tones of the color palette and the ethereal fabric treatments, the poet’s words forming the soundtrack for the show.
Bahnsen is great at turning traditional feminine tropes on their head, and this collection was no exception — girly, yet infinitely cool. Instead of treating florals literally, she hinted at them in the shapes of her nebulous dresses, for which she applies unusual fabrications to airy fabrics, most created in-house, to create new volumes.
Smocking evoked flowers on organza pieces with accentuated shoulder shapes. Reinterpreted broderie anglaise had floral motifs cut along the top to bristle when the model moved. Plastic threads were woven onto white organza creations, forming shimmering stripes.
Her dresses featured inner strapping so that their shape could be modified at will — inspired by the way that in times gone by, women would hitch up their skirts and tuck them in for practicality, while ribbons and bows structured the silhouettes from the outside, adding quirky detail.
They were accompanied by delicate, almost translucent ribbed knits and cropped, close to the body jackets, while outerwear included a bright red outsized coat created in collaboration with Mackintosh, with puffy sleeves and a floral adornment.
Bahnsen accessorized the look with miniature cross-body bags with cutout details mimicking her dresses and shoes that were a cross between a lightweight sneaker and a ballet shoe, summing up Bahnsen’s practical, pretty and original approach.