Lemaire Spring 2013 Ready-to-Wear

An artist's studio? A stylish girl's apartment? A fashion show? Or maybe a little of all three… This was the setting for Christophe Lemaire's quietly pitched, subtly chic presentation for the Spring season. The proceedings began as a tableau vivant, with a model in gray-blue pajamas sat on a bed in an artfully decorated studio, the audience intruding on her peace and quiet. Eventually she sprang to life, going about her everyday business as a stylish girl: She doesn't get changed, but just puts on a pair of tan high-heeled sandals, slips a dark navy, oversize duster coat around her shoulders, and walks out. She was then replaced by another model in the mise-en-scène, who continued the little play with the precisely chic capsule wardrobe. This perfect and perfectly banal domestic setup was surprisingly effective in conveying the message of Lemaire's clothes: a seemingly effortless, easy French elegance that you can live your life in. "This is workwear and easy wear but sophisticated," stated the designer after the fashion-play had come to an end. "I am trying to make clothes that are like friends for women." And friendly they are indeed, judging by the expressions on his model-slash-actresses' faces; you got the feeling these are the kind of girls they wish they could be all the time. And not just because a model's lot is not a happy one—although by this point in the season, it really isn't.