PARIS, Jan 27, 2006/ FW/ --- Raf Simons chose the giant angular arch situated just outside Paris in the shiny business district of La Défense for his latest event as, if truth be told, this was more of a happening than a fashion show.

Glass elevators whisked the assembled – younger, hipper; more consciously stylish than the usual Parisian chic crowd - into the freezing night air to find themselves high above the city in the top of the colossal structure which opened up into a cavernous hall of a room; a concrete and hardwood temple to the contemporary, bathed in a cool blue light.

The monument, mimicking Napoleon’s Arc de Triomphe, was conceived as a metaphor not only for France’s glorious past, but also its innovative, high-tech future. It was ironic then that it was left to a Belgian to show what modernity, individualism and innovation really mean.

Traditional fabrics and cuts seem to be in vogue at the moment but this was a celebration of the avant-garde, Simons looking firmly towards the future with an attitude that was more brave new world than old school gentleman.

The lean black trousers and fitted jumpers which opened the show were conventional enough but were rendered fresh with their horizontal chevron knit and the layered construction of the neckline. The dark matt suits that followed were vaguely reminiscent of the Eighties with their oversized shoulders and skinny ties but what was to come was like nothing else.

The silhouettes of bulky padded overcoats with their large rounded hoods, shinny materials and tight pants gave the feel of futuristic monks as the models marched through the eerie half-light, and hypnotic techno beats replacing the Gregorian chants.

This was the archetypal look, worked on elsewhere with sombre cape-like anoraks displaying interesting engineered details such as telescopic hoods, the dark grey outer skin parting to reveal lighter tones in the mechanical workmanship. Trousers were also extendible, manufactured with zips that gave the option of altering the length and contributing to the industrial ambiance.

In a centralized, conservative country, Simons’ philosophy of post-modern free thinking was like a breath of fresh air and made one wonder when the French will produce a designer capable of matching both him, and the architect of the magnificent setting.

Raf Simons

Raf Simons

Raf Simons

Raf Simons