Chloé and Balmain soften up Paris Fashion Week

Chloé was the latest fashion house to champion the independent woman at Paris Fashion Week Thursday, with a collection channeling escapism and adventure.

There were parachute silhouettes, sheer pastel blouses in shirred georgette and long-sleeved gowns with hitched-up hems. Knitwear was spiced up with geometric jacquards and multicolor hand-knotted wool, and the whole collection dotted with encrusted lace and floral jacquard details. Meanwhile, nacré buttons and cotton embroideries added a touch of insouciance to the look and leather trousers, biker boots and jackets contoured with racing stripes or lace-up details toughened things up.

Stacked antique rings, charm earrings and ‘Lexa' double-strap satchels kept the effect charming, as did the weathered color palette of blush, caramel, cocoa and barley, lifted by warm accents of indigo and dusty blue.

The softness also billowed over into Balmain, where designer Oliver Rousteing presented an unusually innocent-looking collection centered around dusky, pastel suedes in duck egg blue, baby pink and camel tones.

Silhouettes were as sharp as ever, with tiny waists and exaggeratedly womanly hips forming the crux of the aesthetic, but were softened by the addition of silk tassel fringing and ruffled hemlines on trousers. There were lashings of lace in the form of transparent pants, boned corsets and light flowing dust jackets that kept things dramatic while remaining elegant.