Courrèges Pre-Fall 2023 Collection

Nicolas di Felice found his pre-fall inspiration in an obscure 1970 movie. According to its IMDB description, A Swedish Love Story follows two teenagers who fall in love in spite of the disapproval of the cynical adults around them. In her leather motorcycle jacket, white shift dress, and ballet skimmers, its young star Ann-Sofie Kylin is so fetching, it’s a wonder the Swedish film isn’t referenced by designers more often.

The links between the movie and the collection are both obvious and subtle. There are mini skirts and moto jackets made in Kylin’s character’s image, but di Felice handles them in a way that obviates any retro connotations. He’s one of the key architects of fashion’s current micro trend, and for accomplices he has the young stars of our day: Dua Lipa, Bella Hadid, Hailey Bieber.

Among the many things that have changed since André Courrèges’s 1970s heyday is our understanding of erogenous zones. The midriff is now the sweet spot, hence the sporty bra tops and a t-shirt dress draped with a torso spanning cut-out. Di Felice says there will be more draping in his spring collection for the label, and that he’s going for a “more organic” feeling. As for the aforementioned motorcycle jacket, it’s actually lifted from a scuba jacket in the house founder’s archive, with the addition of inner straps that make it easy to hitch it over a shoulder like a bag.

Slingback kitten heels subvert the beachy biker vibes, but only up to a point. After opening a Courrèges store in New York’s SoHo neighborhood in September, Di Felice hinted that he’s now on the hunt for an LA location.