COURREGES FW’25 PRE-COLLECTION
Circles, cycles and motorcycles are the vehicles of Courrèges’ FW’25 men’s and women’s pre-collection.
Stripped of its angles, last seasons’ Carré Magique becomes this season’s Cercle Magique, the visual anchor overarching this interpretation of its geometric wardrobe. A romance of passion and abstraction, it expresses the complimentary ideals that drive the architecture of Courrèges.
This season, Nicolas Di Felice finds inspiration in the personal style of Gianni Piacentino, a mid-70’s conceptual artist that blended minimalist methods and a daredevil dedication to motorcycles. Both common obsession and signature Di Felice theme, the biker takes center-stage in this season’s constructions and details. From embossed logo sleeves, to snap-collar jerseys or strapped slipper boots, the deconstructed features of bikerwear loop through refreshed carryovers, spreading a rebellious undertone in their wake. Black vinyl patchworks on skirts, accessories and outerwear evoke car upholstery and entangled fetishes. A companion for midnight adventures, the new Holy Eclipse Bag, offers a baguette-like volume fit for the night. Extracted from the bottom of the classic Holy, it features a removable harness-inspired strap that can hold over-layers in the riot of a heated mosh-pit. Cloaked under heavy leather, a black lace turtleneck conceals a clever arm pocket to keep keys and currencies out of harm’s way.
Like the trucker, the bomber, the tracksuit or the baseball cap, the biker combines the low-brow functionality of workwear and the subcultural symbolism that define Courrèges’ sartorial.Open and universal to its core, it is a House dedicated to the elevation of daywear and the consistant re-creation of its essential codes.
In the intersection of circular constructions, the body expresses a geometric sensuality that softens the narrative. Micro-stud or nude-illusion tattoo mesh, bonded écru lace and embossed snakeskin bralets bring texture to under-layers and introduce a frisky femininity that nurtures the intricacy of Courrèges’ persona.
Courrèges Exhibition Introduction
Courrèges Exhibition Introduction
39th Hyères International Fashion, Accessories and Photography Festival
Mathematics of an encounter - when Courrèges met Noailles
A synthesis of design with a sensorial edge, staged in the heart of the villa Noailles.
A symmetry of shape connecting architects of kindred ambitions.
A synthesis of design with a sensorial edge, staged in the heart of the villa Noailles.
A symmetry of shape connecting architects of kindred ambitions.
Three elements of a visual equation - the ideal modernist villa of Robert Mallet-Stevens, the cult cuts of couturier André Courrèges, the post-modern interpretations of Courrèges’ artistic director Nicolas Di Felice.
A visual triangulation imagined by Di Felice and scenography director Rémy Brière in the multifold volume of the villa’s indoor pool.
Set in three acts, this reductive exhibit is experienced before, during, and after you enter the space.
Before, the distant pulse of high-BPM bass quilts the garden like an invisible path.
During, the six faces of a cube incorporate a condensed history of Courrèges silhouettes while revealing the narrative potential of the building.
Three circular shapes frame the vastness of heritage-white flooring.
Sixteen silhouettes shared evenly between archival and contemporary collections face each other in a ritualistic circle, reenacting a chronology of Courrèges classics.
Cut through the ground, a round window glimpses at a pool party unfolding underfoot.
Club-inspired strobe lights and smoke effects, engineered by Matière Noire studio, charge this counter-space with dramatic effect, creating a palpable sense of anticipation.
On the side, a pile of round-cut posters feature Courrèges Club memorabilia shot by Cha Gonzales, allowing visitors to leave with a souvenir of this momentous exhibition.
Through the walls, the muffled techno score composed by Erwan Sene beckons the viewer outward and after.
On the wall, the nearly centurial clock (present throughout all the editions of the festival) enacts one last, circular presence - opening the merging temporalities of this expressive exhibit. Suspended in the room, as in time, the Courrèges logo exposes itself to the ticking geometry of the future….
« Architecture is an art which is basically geometrical. The cube is the basis of architecture because the right angle is necessary - the steps of a staircase consist of vertical and horizontal planes and the corners of rooms are nearly always right angles. We need right angles. »
R. Mallet-Stevens
Hyper Courrèges Campaign
THE HYPER COURRÈGES PERFUME LINE
‘Hyper’ : from the ancient Greek ὑπέρhypér (“above, beyond”), indicating a superior position in space, intensity or property above the normal; expressing excess, the highest degree.
Superlative by nature, this potent prefix expresses the heightened emotions of a generation driven by its desire for new ideals, a new essence. This symbolic purpose binds the origins of perfume-making to the fundamental codes of the Courrèges house.
Like André Courrèges before him, Nicolas di Felice’s exclusive fragrances aspire to define the archetypes of his time. From the fragments of a memory, the imprint of an olfactory image, emerge the contrasted tones that enrich each fragrance and infuse them with a resolutely contemporary complexity. Using essences synonymous with haute parfumerie - Musk, Leather and Oud - he conjures spontaneous yet subtle ‘instants’ of life that compose the successive episodes of an emotional encounter…
In 2020, Courrèges revisited the geometric outlines of its iconic 1971 bottle to establish the ‘Colorama’ perfume collection. Mirroring its ready-to-wear designs, the ‘Colorama’ bottles were dressed in the tones of the season, staging each perfume as the definitive accessory of a complete silhouette.
Perpetuating the ambitions of couturier-perfumer André Courrèges, the House now introduces a collection of three bold eaux-de-parfums with subtly narrative dimensions.
Video shot by Masha Vsyukova.
THE ‘HYPER’ LINE
Shot by Matthieu Trautman.
Layered and evocative, the fragrances of the ‘Hyper’ line are fashioned with the precision, dedication to detail and radicality that allow the Courrèges wardrobe to break free from tradition and define its own narrative. Clean lines, sharp materials, raw emotions are the codes behind all Courrèges’ creations and the agents of its enduring legacy.
HYPER MUSC
Evocation of an empty candy box, of a wistful vessel for the crisp candor of mint and the sweet coating that clouds the inside, like the promise of a secret exchange. Through the muted sensuality of musk, split by the freshness of peppermint and enveloped in an ambroxan base, lingers the sugary daze of an anticipated emotion.
HYPER LEATHER
In the smooth patina of a leather jacket comes the warmth of a familiar embrace. A powerful Saffiano leather sculpted in contrast with an essence of lemon, and illuminated by a spark of jasmine. As thrilling as a first touch, this polymorphous fragrance is softened by a final sigh of vanilla, Courrèges’ signature undertone.
HYPER OUD
An inner journey cloaked in oriental aromas, compelled by a luminous Oud - an aromatic, woody armor with surprisingly frosty tinges, merged with the nectarous depth of vanilla and the spicy spark of turmeric and ginger to conjure emotions in the making - a fearless energy that carries us forward.
Video shot by Masha Vsyukova.
Courrèges FW’24
COURRÈGES FW’24
MEN’S AND WOMEN’S PRE-COLLECTION
Clean, cut, confidential, the Courrèges FW’24 Men’s and Women’s pre-collection seizes mementos of movement within the construction of an essential wardrobe. In the exactitude of tailored shapes and impeccable fabrics, Nicolas di Felice dispels sensual derivations, formal opportunities for the body to explore its exposure.
A natural evolution of his past collections, the season is embodied by a motley cast of characters that provide insight into his eclectic visual repertoire. From the perverse bourgeoise, or the wayward sailor, to the leather boys and girls and their post-punk counterparts, each archetype mirrors the duality of a vision that balances precision and subversion. Referencing both the House’s daring heritage and di Felice’s personal library of underground fetishes, this collection is a study on public expressions of private desires.
The story opens on the prim outlines of a Prince-of-Wales suit coat and pencil skirt that zip - an unzip- to the body’s will. Open slit sleeves renew key details of FW’23, while a jetted pocket injected under the navel can be seen throughout, serving a risqué take on practicality. The season’s styles follow an organically unisexe approach, with convertible jersey tanks and rebooted vinyl and crepe classics meshing with contemporary volumes and an assorted offering of the Holy Bag. First seen on the SS’24, this new House classic is now available in micro and maxi sizes and an extended range of colours and fabrications.
As the narrative unfolds, a series of drop-front pants evoke Querelle-like sailors - an intertwined fantasy of boys in uniform cruising the night. Beyond pristine first impressions, the season’s silhouettes manifest a desire to touch, to run wild. Polo shirts and dresses are worn open and draped over the shoulders to signal loose intentions. Deep plunging necklines and slashed bodices open the heart to a fleeting encounter, while a fur-lined wind-breaker heightens the sensorial quality of the collection.
From a frozen gesture, an awkward fold, the shapes ritualise the process of disrobing, of exposing oneself to the world.
Knitted Balaclavas borrowed from 1960’s House archives and corn-based latex that sheaths the body in glistening light, allude to a hush-hush history of sexual liberation. In the words of Genet, ’Violence is a calm that disturbs you.’ Slashed horizontally, a longing gaze emerges from its metallic frame, hunting for more. ‘Encore !’ it beckons, tearing us from the comfort of our intimacy, to welcome the warmth of each other’s embrace.
Courrèges SS’24
COURRÈGES SS’24
An overblown Courrèges logo towers over of a cylindric silo, its door, left purposefully ajar, inviting the curious few to venture in. In its center, a freshly-cast square is coated with the whisper of desert winds, filling the space with an irrepressible rush of adventure.
The Courrèges class of ’24 turns conventional theory on its head, starting with its secular house codes. Signature geometry is warped into fluid, polyvalent shapes that reclaim the body’s agency and open each garment to its interpretation. Campus archetypes are reworked into experimental silhouettes, their hybrid construction expressing the body’s desire to be free. Slouchy polo dresses in cotton piqué, oversized Harrington vests and fitted biker jackets are spliced and zipped asymmetrically to articulate deconstructed ideals. As our tribe sets up camp, cotton canvas pieces exhibit a mastery of technical engineering that can morph a military skirt into a hooded mini dress in a moment’s need.
In its final chapter, the collection heightens the holistic perspectives introduced in the SS’24 pre-collection, sharpening di Felice’s vision of a spiritual quest captured in the unfolding of a fashion show. As necklines are opened or funnelled upward, the body’s posture broadens powerfully, signalling the advent of newfound beliefs. New Age symbols pay tribute to the elements, ray-like motifs adorning leather armours, sand and metal transforming into silver and glass breast-plates that celebrate a lineage of star-bound amazones.
In the cristalline vacuum of distorted chemistry sets come-jewelry emerges the promise of new life.
The second act of Nicolas di Felice’s coming-of-age epic, Courrèges SS’24 collection questions notions of authority and norm, revising symbols of male-led history through an empowering tale of female pioneers. Their first steps on virgin land shatter the moon-like surface, carving a fissured road that chronicles each passing stride. A tense, whistling melody borrows from spaghetti western scores, its complex, acid-tinged layers conjured by house composer, Sene and di Felice himself. Imagined by artist Remy Brière, this entropic stage takes after the stripped-back strategies of Land Art, its brittle form echoing the clashing encounter of Mind and Nature. In this sculptural framework, the body strives to perform geometry, its accidental imprints delineating an infinite road forward. ‘Let me tell you a story’ breathes the voice of an omniscient narrator as the crackle of clay weaves into the spiralling soundscape.
Both defined and emancipated from their education, our heroic graduates brave the road ahead with self-servient optimism. In a closing blast of artificial sunlight, the tenuous balance of comfort and doubt, permanence and revolt is the lesson their journey leaves behind. Though unsure of its destination, this staged exodus dispels a universal message of hope captured in the alchemy of light, movement and imagination. Whatever lays beyond is just a matter of faith.
Courrèges FW’23
Muted monochromes of morning skies, of daily commutes and grey crowds caught in the virtual bubbles at the tip of their thumbs. In the static of contemporary life, this constellation of blue-lit screens composes a promise that is the premise of Courrèges’ FW’23 Men’s and Women’s pre-collection.
This season, Nicolas Di Felice has defined a layered evolution of the Courrèges wardrobe - a composite uniform engineered for a secret community that questions its experience of the daily grind. This post-modern approach to Courrèges’ essential codes is led by deconstructed notions of functionality. Elbows are slit and zipped to cloak a jacket over busy arms, crisp chiné slacks are fused with a miniskirt with punk-like gusto, exposing the body in unexpected places.
An ‘all-seeing’ Eye inhabits the collection’s unisex jersey separates, like a comforting sign guiding us forward. Neo-camouflage tortoise-shell and seditious silk-screen prints meet office-wear staples that fit the hybrid realities of a new generation of professionals.
The rigorous architecture of tailoring outlines elevated details of subcultural streetwear, expressing Di Felice’s desire to incorporate a contrasting range of impulses into his razor-sharp definition of shape.
Courrèges’ signature geometry is subverted through dissonant materials: heritage crepe is met with punk-ish wool caviar and glimpses of technical lingerie woven from an archival pattern. Combat boots are fashioned in stretch leather and worn thigh-high on men, blurring tropes of gender and tradition. It is convertible daywear seen through Nicolas Di Felice’s twisted take on tailoring.
The silhouettes are paired with varied iterations of the new ‘Cloud Bag’, a minimal shoulder bag reworked from a classic case bag into a streamlined and pillowy essential.
Knuckle armours and oversized ‘satellite dish’ earrings complete the looks, amplifying the atmosphere of dissidence.
This collection is presented on January 20th, 2023 in an ephemeral space in the Marais. Its set is designed by French artist Rémy Brière: tubular white metal sculptures emulate the articulated shapes of telephone antennas. Their mechanical arms are fit with screens that provide individual windows into the collection. A flock of flags chants the collection’s chorus line, a semantic motif developed by Courrèges’ house composer, Sene.
From the unrest of dissolving days comes a renewed spirit of community invigorated by a collective drive to reclaim the present: « United Resistance, Together in the Here and Now »
