Fall A-Flutter

At the fall collections this February a number of designers in Paris and Milan showed that feathers have life beyond pillow stuffing. Issey Miyake went for full-feathered black dresses that peaked through thatched jumpers and swathes of down cascading down floor-length dresses which had a red carpet-like appeal. Gucci meanwhile went for a more subtle approach offering short trenches with a smattering of beige feathers floating delicately on the shoulder. Gothic plumage came from Ann Demeulemeester in the form of dense black-and-red feathered waistcoats that curled up around the neck—a  look that brought to mind Cruella De Ville, bored of dalmation spots and newly obsessed with parrots. Although many of the designers offered feathers of the just-plucked variety, gently waving down the catwalk – it was Alexander McQueen’s posthumous collection that took the material to another level with models preening beneath stiff gilded feather collars. But the most wanted plumes undeniably came from the nest of Alber Elbaz at Lanvin whose crystal encrusted cocktail dresses  featured strips and epauletes of delicate marabou feathers, while decadent white ostrich coats seemed the apex of feathered fabulousness.