Daily Front Row

2012 September 26

Paris Spring 2013: Veronique Branquinho, Guy Laroche

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Veronique Branquinho Spring 2013
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(PARIS) Veronique Branquinho
Comeback alert! After three years off the runway, Branquinho's PFW redux was a languid, simply sophisticated offering (emphasis on the simply so, given the solid palette embellished at most with pleats or stripes). Fluidity ruled when it came to those pleats, often cut in unadorned columns, as were the metallic pieces, which felt a bit flimsy but pretty nonetheless. A third of the way through Branquinho's collection, as the more structured suiting and pants-underpinned getups emerged, some standout looks transpired, including a brief creamsicle-orange color story, segueing with a bit of navy to a handsome hunter green. Pants erred on the side of wider-legged and well-cut; those horizontally sheer-inset tops that often accompanied them, usually in monochrome? A simple standout we're ready to order up now, s'il vous plait.

Guy Laroche
Marcel Marongiu was in an architectural state of mind inside the Jardin des Tuileries today, referencing the celebrated Deconstructivist creator Frank Gehry with a minimalistic fare colored in white and navy with a burst of turquoise and petal pink. The restrained elegance the brand is known for came out in simple nightgown dresses, figure-hugging shifts paneled and printed down the center, and a grouping of knee-skimming, business casual frocks. Suiting, a perennial calling card here, fell short at the belly baring crop tops and mannish bottoms--a hiccup in the form-over-function mentality of the post-structuralist set. But a high pencil skirt and turtleneck beneath a paired-down coat with a flash of color peeking out from the lining more than made up for it.