Celine's Phoebe Philo mixes sensuality and utility for next spring
Black lace and fluid white pieces were paired with masculine rubber-soled boots, the soft with the hard, in a collection fashion editors themselves will want to wear
The elusive Phoebe Philo has a knack for pioneering certain styles in fashion, and turning a whole industry tide. The woman who championed easy, androgynous dressing with a Francophile leaning has increasingly turned her attention to more sensual looks in recent seasons.
Those famously stiff, pure lines have been copied to kingdom come, so now Philo has shifted to something altogether more feminine. A case in point was her spring/summer 2016 catwalk show for Celine. Silky little slip dresses inspired by lingerie opened the show. Black lace and fluid white pieces were paired with masculine rubber-soled boots. With Celine, the soft often comes with the hard - a clever balance that is not so easy to achieve.
Some of the best pieces were leather jackets and coats - thick and voluminous with huge ribbed elastic waists that gave them wonderful shape. Billowing cotton sleeves and skirts on dresses were pure prairie, and then came bold English countryside checks, tailored for quirky volume and shape. Even when things shouldn't work together, Philo somehow manages to weave them into a plausible and covetable solution that nevertheless seems kind of effortless. Always slightly ahead of the curve, this is another Celine collection that'll be inspiring fashion editors' own wardrobes next season.
