Alexandre Vauthier Ready To Wear Spring Summer 2014 Paris

“Get the look for less,” was the name of the game for Alexandre Vauthier’s summer 14 ready to wear, given a little up close and personal time in his offices today. Of course, with a couturier like Vauthier, the look exudes luxury from every pore of the painstakingly thinned crocodile leather of a jacket, and less can actually amount to quite a pretty penny (or rather several hundred thousands of them, for the aforementioned jacket).

As expected, variations on his July couture trickled down into the collection, starting with the jackets, ranging from a simple black biker right up to the aforementioned croc one. New for the season are his trousers, tailored out of thick twill, a couture-inflected alternative to designer jeans. One particularly neat option mimicked a leather look, its coated surface almost indistinguishable unless paying close attention.

And prints are a smart move, replacing the finicky assemblage of materials with a graphic punch, light blue rays stretching across the darkness. On a bustier with its asymmetrical draped hems, it’s simply stunning.

Thick knits are used to great advantage for dresses, for a fetching daywear option finished off with Vauthier’s golden tab interrupting the back’s V. On the accessories front, the major update was the inclusion of silver hardware for bags, bangles and other baubles.

For a couture designer, it boils down to the question of how to recreate their signature, while walking the tightrope between couture and commercial. In Vauthier’s case, it just meant that he got creative. Plugging himself into his core vision of femininity, yet with all the constraints of this exercise, he’s managed to preserve both his high end nature, and the overall interest of his ready-to-wear.