By Erin Moonyeen Haley
Andreas Kronthale, designer and husband to the late Vivienne Westwood helmed one of the most anticipated shows of Paris Fashion Week 2023. Since Westwood's death in December of 2022, her legacy has only been reinforced as models, designers and fashion savants recalled her punk aesthetic that she used as the girding reinforcement for many of her shows, forever linking her name with a playful form of anarchy that ruled even as it eschewed boorish etiquette and redefined the status quo.
Kronthale delivered a show full of flamboyance, asymmetrical ornamentation and natural motifs. But, lest anyone assume that he was locking the show into any one style or epochal influence, the heavy brocades and jeweled accouterments were offset with 1970s plaids and 1980s athletic wear, keeping the mood appropriately eccentric. Colors were also bold and assertive, with indigo blue corsets paired with matching satin harem pants, and cabernet-purple satins billowing out in perfect bell-shaped silhouettes.
Baroque music played as models walked in a palatial setting that included colonnades and lavish decor. Oxblood fabrics, hologram-patterned boots, fishnet stockings, and towering heels also ensured that Westwood's spirit infused every element, while Westwood's granddaughter Cora Corré closed the show wearing a delicate white minidress made from lace and paired with platform boots.
