Paris favours ‘ethnic look’

Press, Volume CXVI, Issue 34130, 17 April 1976, Page 6

Paris favours ‘ethnic look’

(Bn

PEGGY MASIN,

A’ .Z.P.A.-Reuter correspondent)

PARIS. i< Paris fashions are! travelling again, with; ethnic looks emerging as! the major trend in autumn and winter! ready-to-wear collections* presented in Paris.

There's hardly a plain basic dress in sight and any- ' thing that was considered simple and restrained last year suddenly looks like Whistler’s Mother in the midst of a Mardi Gras parade. Saint-Laurent leads off with a trip through all the Balkan countries. Some of iis followers seem to have >een wandering around North Africa while other designers have brought in Central and South American hemes. Kenzo. the highly influential Japanese creator, akes in the North American Indians complete with loin cloths, war paint, Navajo war cries and feathered i head-dresses in his show which might be best des-|

icribed as Hiawatha on a big! | “high.” Buyers hesitant ' Buying, especially out at ! the Porte De Versailles, ! where 1050 exhibitors (showed to 15,000 profes- ! sional buyers from 75 countries, is reported to be on a

par with last year. Some sceptics believe, however, that folklore has been carried a bit too far. Several West German buyers — the most important clients in both French couture and ready-to-wear and who purchased 560 million francs ($110,700) worth of clothing here last year — are hesitant about the commercial aspect of peasants, gypsies, and Indians out on the streets of Munich and Cologne next winter. Yesterday three buyers walking down the Champs Elysees from one show to another encountered gypsies who wander through the Quartier telling fortunes and reading palms. At first sight the buyers were convinced that the gypsies were really Yves Saint-Laurent mannequins nosing for photo-

graphs, until they had a[ closer look. However, many of these} ethnic looks are not in-( Itended to be worn integrally} land what may draw thun-| Iderous rounds of applause lon the runway js often l watered down for consumer i acceptance. Mini-skirls fail I Over all, the news is a return to larger silhouettes. Saint-Laurent has brought back full gathered skirts and dirndls, big swirly capes and shawls all featured in a riot of colour. : Karl Lagerfeld, the GerIman designer for Chloe, } even sends his mannequins lout for late daywear in i silk faconne tunics and heavy crepe-soled Wellington boots. I A handful of the less imi portant designers made a I stab at reviving mini-skirts but their impact is like a 'flea on an elephant’s back. Other dominant silhouettes are big-bloused tops with lowered waistlines marked by a drawstring. Hips come in for their share of the limelight but the wraps,

bandages, and drapes are destined only for flat, thin figures. Tunics turn up everywhere in dozens of different effects. They are nearly always slit or vented at the side seams and often trimmed with wool braid or contrasting toned piping. Layering, more important than ever, is a natural for tunics in tiered effects worn one over the other. Tunics also top dresses, pleated skirts, stovepipe-slim trousers or even tights. Hoods appear on everything from sportswear to formal gowns. They are cowled hoods which drop down and transform into a round draped neckline. Sweaters have giraffe-neck collars that draw up over the head as a hood.

Headgear carried through the ethnic influence.

Even the most sophisticated mannequins dressed in dirndls and Balkan peasant costumes have long thick pigtails of synthetic hair falling down the back to the waistline.