Courrèges Pre-Fall 2022

Nicolas Di Felice throws a mean after party. Last September, after staging his first physical show with an audience since taking over as artistic director of the Space Age label, the designer celebrated with a pre-pandemic style bash that drew the likes of Emma Mackey and Tommy Dorfman.

It turns out it was the unofficial launch of Club Courrèges, a club night that he hopes to turn into a quarterly event, together with friends like DJ and producer Erwan Sene, who does all his soundtracks. In the meantime, Di Felice drafted some of his crew to model the looks for his coed pre-fall collection.

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If the photos of Spanish singer Bad Gyal, Polish DJ VTSS and choreographer Miles Greenberg look like they were taken outside a nightclub, it’s because he tapped Berlin-based photographer Spyros Rennt, known for his raw images of nightlife, to shoot the look book.

The clothes themselves were true to Di Felice’s rather purist approach to the Courrèges heritage. A skintight black vinyl minidress featured the house’s signature swallow-shaped neckline, which first made its appearance in 1964 — only now, it enhances the cleavage, instead of demurely framing the collar of an A-line frock.

“I feel more at ease now to mix these codes, this heritage and also my own,” he explained. The designer reworked key pieces from his first three collections with a gender-fluid approach: guys and gals shared a wardrobe of halter-neck tops, shiny slashed vests and neat leather jackets with detachable shearling collars.

Di Felice continues to refine the cut of every piece, lifting a collar to point out a dart here, or a shoulder tab there. The combination of his meticulous approach and his hedonistic spirit resulted in an energetic collection that doesn’t require a dance floor to shine.

SEE ALSO:

As It Turns 60, Courrèges Takes a New Direction

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Courrèges Heads Into the Forest for Spring — Rain Capes Optional

Launch Gallery: Courrèges Prefall 2022

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