PFW: Courrège’s Voyage Into Hi-Tech Clothing

Muchaneta Kapfunde | @FashNerdEditor

Last season, Paris Fashion Week shone with tech, however this time round it seems that wearable technology on the runway might have become a little passe.

That being said, we still did keep our eagle eye on the 9 day fashion ‘week’ event and now as #PFW16 comes to an end, our must see this season was French label Courrèges whose collection of beautiful coats fluently spoke the language of normal and wearable.

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The once sought after label, has been revived by LVMH Prize winners Sébastien Meyer and Arnaud Vaillant, who have come up with an AW16 collection made up of 15 iconic Courrèges pieces, available in 15 different materials. As many ‘ooohed’ and ‘ahhhed’ over the cropped jackets, miniskirts, A-line shifts, cropped suede pants and techno knits, we found ourselves salivating over the snug coats that gave a nod to wearable technology.

ALSO READ:  Moon Berlin, Translating Technology Into Cashmere Coat

Created to blend in as an everyday winter essential, the woollen looking coats are designed with a slimline heater that can be turned on by just pushing a discretely hidden button inside the coat. On why Courrège invested in creating smart coats, designer Meyer shared with APF, ‘Who has never dream’t of being warm in the winter? ‘This transition is possible if technology responds to our primary needs – wellbeing and comfort.’

Designers, Sébastien Meyer and Arnaud Vaillan
Designers, Sébastien Meyer and Arnaud Vaillan

On their adoption of technology Frederic Torloting, Courrège co-president promised that for them it was just the beginning. They have future plans for merging wearable technology into their forthcoming R-T-W collections. ‘Technology has been a very tricky subject for fashion. It is often seen as antithetical, that hi-tech and isn’t glamorous, But that’s wrong. It can be made glamorous! ‘This is only our first step – we are going to do lot of other things in this area.’

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Designed to be beautifully comfortable, AW16 Courrège coats are available in three different designs and you can shop the collection now.

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SOURCEPhoto Credit: Courrèges