Celine Spring/Summer 2016: A Gentle Touch

The venue for Phoebe Philo’s Celine show was clad in sunshine colours in Paris this afternoon: brightest yellow, orange and deep blue. Guests took their seats on raw, hand-carved tree trunks on a sandy floor. The setting was a blithe and very charming sign of the clothes to come.

They were beautiful: heavy silk petticoats in black and ivory, edged with fine lace in contrasting shades, loose-fitting, feather-light, ankle-length dresses in palest blush and custard, cut away at the back and tied with long, fluttering ribbons. Quintessentially feminine, their prettiness was undercut by square-toed, flat Chelsea boots or fierce pointed clogs with a mid-height block heel.

More masculine – and this designer has long been inspired by menswear and tailoring in particular – were oversized plaid trousers and jackets, coats that stood well away from the body on the top half but were gathered at the waist by panels of rib knit and a perfect trench, split at both sides to the thigh.

‘I’m someone who thinks a lot about how clothes make us feel,’ Phoebe said backstage, ‘of how they make me feel.’ Given the unprecedented care and attention to cut, fabrication and detail that goes into the creation of Celine clothing, it’s safe to assume that this collection, like all the designer’s others, will make the women lucky enough to wear it feel great.

The overall effect of models walking in looks that were empowering but also always somehow gentle was hugely inspiring. ‘I like the idea of a voyage and just being able to pack it all into a suitcase. And, strangely, of seeing these clothes in nature,’ Phoebe Philo said.