The opening melody of “This Women’s Work” by iconic Kate Bush set a tone-setter for Céline’s Spring/Summer. As she pivoted her collection with Bush’s vulnerable song, it was Phoebe Philo’s focus to embrace uncertainties that correlates with the spark of creativity. And it was exactly that sort of consciousness that made this collection the more enhanced. Mainly prioritizing on career-minded women – obvious taken from the song’s title, Philo constructed a line of pieces on corporate practicality that strayed away from traditional corporate robots, but more facing the need to express individualism. It was a march of authoritative self-assured women to the approach of minimalistic aesthetics through movement and perfect proportions.
The Céline woman stride began with knitwear tank dresses with bursting lively yarn fringing on the hem, tunic tops with circular cut outs and shift dresses were enhanced by bands of flapping fabrics loosely tied at the sides. There were coats adorned with belts or buttons of cowbells to give a modest quirky approach and exaggerated cropped flares with turn-ups. The knitwear of fuchsia and navy woven wool were unraveling at the hem of more knitted tank dresses. A series of a 70s-inspired florals were intertwined and layered over flares or midi length dresses, along with petal sleeves. The unraveling vulnerability was seen through the many untangled strands of wool on knits, either around tank dresses, or crinkled black coats. A womenswear collection would not be as feminine without a provocative engagement seen through slits on the front and backs of a fitted knit skirt, worn with utilitarian tops. The idea of a work-and-play mode of life pace was one tone that followed. Accessories were the quirky elements in the collection, with shoes depicting functional as flat forms, belts with metals that resembled closely as bells or padlocks and pendants or brooches pinned to short sleeved cuffs and lapels in forms of coiled snakes.
A collection of full feminist assertiveness has never seemed to be such a game-changer. Philo’s idealistic view of today’s women is truly a pace that will bring Céline’s future to more open doors. And as she quoted, a woman’s work is, “a huge amount of different things, all of them fulfilling, and all of them equally important”, every element and minor detailing in this collection is also as equally fulfilling and as equally important – it’s a woman’s world. (Text Nadilla Sari Ratman)