PFW diary: Day 1 in Paris brings a visit to Colette, and more pearls from the Hussein Chalayan exhibit

A rare break on the Paris fashion week calendar means an editor does one or two things:

1. Visit Colette. (Check!) Among the countless chic finds, the Jeremy Scott x Swatch collab watches make telling time—at least when your iPhone dies—a very colourful experience.

2. Visit a museum. I zipped over to Les Arts Décoratifs to zoom through Hussein Chalayan’s Fashion Narratives. Known for his highly inventive designs that fuse fashion, architecture, and technology together, this exhibit highlights Chalayan’s kook-tastic universe using a multi-sensory experience, including voice, body, music, light, and décor that mirrors his ready-to-wear shows.

The “Dont Miss” short list: Airmail Dresses—his first commercial collection in 1994—was based on the folds from a letter; for Blindscape (Spring 2005) the designer blindfolded himself while sketching the collection, to see how a person with vision views the world as someone who doesn’t; and One Hundred and Eleven (Spring 2006) where hand-constructed mechanical dresses morphed (at the touch of a button backstage) into entirely different silhouettes.

Fear Factor: With its haunting soundtrack, life-like mannequins (one actually has eyes and blinks using a projected image onto her face), and garments flapping in the breeze (courtesy of a wind machine, I’m hoping?) this exhibition left me inspired yet kind of wishing I’d brought along a nightlight.

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