For the Longchamp Fall/Winter 2022 ready-to-wear collection, Creative Director Sophie Delafontaine drew inspiration from the two contrasting yet complementary ambiances of a winter break in the Alps: sporty and cocooning.
From the former, she took vivid colors—bold orange, intense blue, emerald green—and technical fabrics, in particular nylon that crumples like the sound of crunching snow. These were crafted into reversible gilets, blousons, coats, and even a mini-skirt with quilting incorporating Longchamp’s racehorse logo and brightly colored linings that popped against urban hues like black and khaki. Camouflage was another important theme, interpreted both on outerwear and a fluid dress slit to the thigh, worn with one of the season’s key layering pieces—a skinny-rib rollneck—slipped underneath.
The cocooning section of the collection, meanwhile, nodded to the ski resorts built in the 1960s by French designer Charlotte Perriand. The authentic ambiance created by warm colors and natural wood furniture was reflected in cozy plaid jackets with large pockets, as well as elegantly oversized, masculine suiting in hound’s-tooth check. For evenings by a roaring fire, there were draped, knife-pleated dresses in jewel tones, worn over a contrasting rollneck or on their own to reveal bare, glowing skin.
This being Longchamp, there was an array of desirable leather pieces, including a zipped blouson in butter-soft black sheep leather embossed with an oversized racehorse logo, a shearling jacket with exposed seams, and a bomber in crinkled leather lined with snug shearling.
The season’s star bag is the new Box-Trot, named for its sleek, structured shape in smooth calfskin and its gold-tone medallion clasp featuring the Longchamp horse and rider. Swinging from the shoulder or slung casually across the body, it captures the free spirit and timeless elegance of the Parisienne.
The Parisian spirit was evident too in the collection’s key accessories, in particular baseball caps, either plain or checked, worn with brightly colored silk scarves underneath in the quintessential combination of tradition and modernity. Shoes, meanwhile, reflected the two contrasting ambiances of the collection: sturdy hiking boots or snow boots with colorful nylon gaiters, and elegant knee boots or feminine sling-backs with silver-tone metal heels.
Longchamp is exclusively available at Rustan’s, Greenbelt 5 and www.rustans.com
