In the Paris style scene, Julia de Libran has carved out a special place. A collection of smooth, female attire that skillfully walks the line between increased ready-to-wear and demicouture can be found in the window of her little boutique atelier on the Rue de Luynes. Projecting those clothes from imagined showcase to genuine- life salons, cocktails, and events takes no leap of imagination: These are trendy, smooth clothes for actual women who want to be elegant without looking like they’re trying that difficult. De Libran counts among her clients some of Paris’s most beautiful animals. In the writer’s stunning residence on the Left Bank, they had a huge turnout on Wednesday morning for this lecture in both the living room and the garden.
Even though the designer offered no sign of the designer’s intention of including her in the tableau (she wears look two), she was only wearing a crystal-trimmed linen ensemble with rhinestones embroidered onto the shoulders and a mesh screen on the scarf.
“In a way, this collection is really about my youth and growing up in France, then America, next Italy, then again in Paris”, the artist said before the show, which she designed to be “very friends and family”, starring many of the women—mothers, grandmothers, daughters, sisters, nieces, a couple sets of twins—who have been critical to her throughout her life. “It’s about transmitting from one generation to the next”, she said. “It’s an exchange, a perpetual cycle, like passing a feminine torch”.
The designer added that living and working at the epicenter of haute couture inspired her to celebrate fashion’s artisans, from the embroiderer she has worked with for years to houses across Chanel’s 19M galaxy, such as Causse, Goossens, and Maison Michel for gloves, jewelry, and hats, respectively. Footwear came courtesy of Manolo Blahnik, eyewear was by Maison Bonnet.
As an indie, de Libran nailed Parisienne simplicity—the kind of done/undone glamour the whole world envies—straight out of the gate. Here, however, her clothes became much more elaborate and intricately worked. An early handful of dresses channeled a 1950s- era teatime silhouette. A red silk cape dress was trimmed with pink ostrich feathers, ditto a double- face cashmere suit that, minus the fringe effect, could easily be a closet staple. A caramel double-face cashmere coat thrown over a red silk shirtdress would be right at home on the Left Bank, a white grain de poudre silk and satin tuxedo jacket whispered quintessentially Parisienne. A mother-daughter duo wore a brocade silk dress and coat with handmade sequin flowers in looks 15 and 16. They looked strong.
However, some other looks, such as a silk and lurex brocade T-dress or a pajama suit in the same material, appeared to have filtered notions of French chic from a faraway perspective, as if looking toward Paris from a mansion in Palm Beach. The designer will undoubtedly gain more international clients who are looking for more high-end options because of those numbers and dresses like a tiered aqua gown. That elusive Parisian nonchalance, which she typically finds so well, was absent.