Haider Ackermannâ??s Smoke Show

At Haider Ackermann’s show at the Palais de Chaillot on Saturday morning, models paraded down the red, green, or purple smoke-filled runway in various states of aristo-punk-inspired undress. 

Tilda Swinton, an enduring Ackermann muse, or any of the reigning Rock Kings (Bowie, Jagger, Tyler, et al.) could have easily been the starting points for Ackermann’s unbuttoned passage. Then, of course, there’s also Sebastain Horsely, the late artist and author of Dandy in the Underworld who often sported a decidedly goth take on Beau Brummel drag; his signature style, too, might’ve contributed to this season’s hypnotic, after-after-party chic.

Of the collection, Ackermann shared, “I really wanted to have a gang of girls with personality, that were going for whatever they wanted, whatever their road was…we all have out stories to tell.”

In that vein, ultra slim panne velvet suiting separates were turned out in sumptuous shades of turquoise and turmeric or cerulean and citrine—two winning combinations. These marched alongside more cigarette trousers, some in black leather, some with contrasting bi-colored waistbands. Like so many of his contemporaries this season, Ackermann also borrowed a page from the tried and true T.L.C. style guide, with undergarments peeking above waistlines. Without going verbatim, the designer remixed the chapter, opting in favor of fishnets instead of the typical cotton shorts.

A banquet of must-have jackets of the traditional, formal, military, bolero, waistcoat, and robe varieties—some belted, fastened, or tucked into the aforementioned fishnets, others left open with their coattails flying midair—were shown in noir and deep tertiary tones, or candy floss-colored hues as saccharine sweet as the errant whips of Jem and the Holograms-worthy faux-hawks gently brushed across the models’ faces.

Life of the party bias cut dresses, meanwhile, slivered sensually around the body à la ’90s-era supermodel dancing front row (or backstage) at her boyfriend’s concert. Blouses were edited down to a few ruffled necked chiffon numbers, and a smattering of silky scarves artfully tied at the neck, or nonchalantly tucked into various jacket pockets.

For more from Paris Fashion Week SS 2016, click here.