CanCon in Paris
Canadien(ne)s are taking over Paris--well, a tiny, unobtrusive corner of it. Nestled into the infamous Le Regine last night were designers Jeremy Laing and Rad Hourani, top blogger Tommy Ton, Shinan Govani with a bit of an entourage, and more... “I’ve never seen so many of us in one room here!" exclaimed one lively expatriate.
New designer-to-know Calla Haynes had cause to celebrate, in her gentle way: This week marks the coming-out of her eponymous solo line. (Previously, she earned her pedigree under Olivier Theyskens at Nina Ricci and creating prints for Laing.)
I squeezed into her shoebox showroom to gasp over the capsule collection--an exquisite set of silky basics, impressionist digital prints, and one incredible jacket, all mosaic-pieced in pastel snakeskin. She told me it all started with an elastic little slipdress, a boneless, second-skin corset; then it was elaborated with those signature screenprints and soft silks. Haynes forces no girl to choose between sex and romance.
That frankly scandalous foundation garment (picture: if Spanx made dresses) would have been so hot to trot out at Regine’s, but Ms. Haynes was frocked by Jeremy Laing. So was Toronto super-social Victoria Webster, pairing her putty dress with pylon orange heels. Tommy Ton slipped on the zipped-off sleeves of Rad Hourani’s jacket. And I happened to be feeling princessy in a regal purple piece of velvet, courtesy of Linda Lundström. Represent!
And now, to keep the flag up, I’m dashing over to Jean-Pierre Braganza’s cocktail party and collection viewing. I expect to covet much. Hope homegirls get the wholesale rate...