DUBAI: French Algerian model Loli Bahia has been busy of late, walking for several brands at the prestigious Paris Fashion Week, including the latest Louis Vuitton and Chanel shows.
For Louis Vuitton’s spring/summer presentation, womenswear designer Nicolas Ghesquiere presented a lineup of layered looks featuring short, flouncy skirts and puffy-sleeved jackets, similar to Bahia’s runway style on the final day of Paris Fashion Week.
The in-demand catwalk star graced the runway wearing a black jumpsuit with a relaxed, tailored fit and a deep V-neckline, allowing a metallic, iridescent top to peek through underneath. The shiny fabric of the top, visible on the sleeves and chest, contrasted with the matte texture of the jumpsuit.
She accessorized with a structured black handbag featuring metallic hardware and chain details, while her black pointed-toe shoes completed the look.
The runway was set up in a temporary venue in the courtyard of the Louvre Museum, made from a mix of trunk facades. It ran through the center of the space and rose into a podium as the show started.
The models paraded tops that were cinched at the waist, their long necklaces and loosely fastened neckties swinging, Reuters reported. The pace quickened through the show, even as the silhouettes grew longer, to include robe-like overcoats that swept the floor and loose, bohemian trousers.
Handbags came in all shapes and sizes, with some models carrying more than one, stacked like jewelry.
For the Chanel show, Bahia wore a layered ensemble featuring a black-and-white houndstooth set. The look included a cropped, double-breasted vest with a wide, oversized collar, worn over a sheer white blouse with voluminous sleeves. The matching houndstooth skirt had a mid-length hem with a thigh-high slit. The look was styled with a pair of statement black-and-white platform lace-up shoes.
Without a creative director since June after Virginie Viard — who took over from Karl Lagerfeld after his death in 2019 — bowed out, Chanel’s studio designed the spring/summer collection, riffing on some of the label’s standards, from its trademark tweeds to lacy flapper dresses and flying jackets, AFP reported.
But it was the feathers that stood out, used in ruff-like collars on crocheted bombers and on 1920s-style gowns inspired by the glamour of French writer Colette’s forays into music hall and cabaret.