Paris Fashion Week looks to new designers at big houses

New designers at Hermès, Nina Ricci and Adam Andrascik will be turning heads at Paris Fashion Week, but all eyes are likely to be on John Galliano, recently returned from disgrace.

Fresh from shows in New York, London and Milan, the fashion world returned to Paris on March 3 for nine days of autumn/winter collections. There are 92 ready-to-wear shows on the bill, with about 50 additional events on the sidelines.

Among the most hotly anticipated is the first collection for Hermès from Nadège Vanhee-Cybulski, who took over from Christophe Lemaire as the luxury brand’s new head of women’s fashion.

The 36-year-old cut her teeth at Céline and Maison Martin Margiela, and previously headed up the design studio at The Row, owned by the United States actresses Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen.

And the flashbulbs will certainly be going when Galliano presents his first ready-to-wear collection for Maison Margiela on March 6.

The British designer made his comeback to the catwalk in January in London, after being shut out of the fashion world for three-and-a-half years following an anti-Semitic rant in a Paris cafe that got him fired from Dior in 2011.

Galliano’s collection in London was praised for combining his trademark wild romanticism with his new employer’s focus on white, recycling and deconstruction.

The flamboyant designer – a superstar of the fashion world who has dressed the late Princess Diana as well as many Oscar-night actresses in the past – has adopted a low profile since joining Maison Margiela.

His London couture presentation “had already interested the whole world, but it’s even more special for the prêt-à-porter show, which lies at the heart of Maison Margiela’s identity”, says Stephane Wargnier, the executive president of the French Couture Federation, which organises Paris fashion. “It will be fascinating to see how his work pays off here.”

Another focus of curiosity will be Nina Ricci’s collection presented on Saturday by Guillaume Henry, who has recently arrived from Carven.

The young designer, in his 30s, is credited with reviving Carven’s fortunes during his six-year tenure at the label.

“Carven was a label whose name was known, but for most people, its style had been forgotten. Guillaume Henry pretty much reinvented it,” says Wargnier.

Carven has yet to name its new artistic director for its women's collections, although the industry journal Women's Wear Daily has said that Alexis Martial, from Italy's Iceberg, is a distinct possibility.

Another new start to look out for in Paris will be Guy Laroche, who presents his first collection for the US label Adam Andrascik, after replacing the artistic director Marcel Marongiu.

Four labels are also making their entry into the official calendar: Parisian collaborative Each x Other; Denmark’s Anne Sofie Madsen, who has worked with Galliano and Alexander McQueen; the Colombian Esteban Cortazar; and France’s Vanessa Seward, who has launched her own brand after several years with APC.

Opening day is dedicated to young designers, and the Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo will visit the Duperré School where some 500 fashion, textiles and design students are trained every year.

artslife@thenational.ae

'The Ice Road'

Director: Jonathan Hensleigh
Stars: Liam Neeson, Amber Midthunder, Laurence Fishburne

2/5

How to play the stock market recovery in 2021?

If you are looking to build your long-term wealth in 2021 and beyond, the stock market is still the best place to do it as equities powered on despite the pandemic.

Investing in individual stocks is not for everyone and most private investors should stick to mutual funds and ETFs, but there are some thrilling opportunities for those who understand the risks.

Peter Garnry, head of equity strategy at Saxo Bank, says the 20 best-performing US and European stocks have delivered an average return year-to-date of 148 per cent, measured in local currency terms.

Online marketplace Etsy was the best performer with a return of 330.6 per cent, followed by communications software company Sinch (315.4 per cent), online supermarket HelloFresh (232.8 per cent) and fuel cells specialist NEL (191.7 per cent).

Mr Garnry says digital companies benefited from the lockdown, while green energy firms flew as efforts to combat climate change were ramped up, helped in part by the European Union’s green deal.

Electric car company Tesla would be on the list if it had been part of the S&P 500 Index, but it only joined on December 21. “Tesla has become one of the most valuable companies in the world this year as demand for electric vehicles has grown dramatically,” Mr Garnry says.

By contrast, the 20 worst-performing European stocks fell 54 per cent on average, with European banks hit by the economic fallout from the pandemic, while cruise liners and airline stocks suffered due to travel restrictions.

As demand for energy fell, the oil and gas industry had a tough year, too.

Mr Garnry says the biggest story this year was the “absolute crunch” in so-called value stocks, companies that trade at low valuations compared to their earnings and growth potential.

He says they are “heavily tilted towards financials, miners, energy, utilities and industrials, which have all been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic”. “The last year saw these cheap stocks become cheaper and expensive stocks have become more expensive.”

This has triggered excited talk about the “great value rotation” but Mr Garnry remains sceptical. “We need to see a breakout of interest rates combined with higher inflation before we join the crowd.”

Always remember that past performance is not a guarantee of future returns. Last year’s winners often turn out to be this year’s losers, and vice-versa.