Muted monochromes of morning skies, of daily commutes and grey crowds caught in the virtual bubbles at the tip of their thumbs. In the static of contemporary life, this constellation of blue-lit screens composes a promise that is the premise of Courrèges’ FW’23 Men’s and Women’s pre-collection.

This season, Nicolas Di Felice has defined a layered evolution of the Courrèges wardrobe – a composite uniform engineered for a secret community that questions its experience of the daily grind. This post-modern approach to Courrèges’ essential codes is led by deconstructed notions of functionality. Elbows are slit and zipped to cloak a jacket over busy arms, crisp chiné slacks are fused with a miniskirt with punk-like gusto, creating exposure in unexpected places.

An ‘all-seeing’ Eye inhabits the collection’s unisex jersey separates, like a comforting sign guiding us forward. Neo-camouflage tortoise-shell and seditious silk-screen prints meet office-wear staples that fit the hybrid realities of a new generation of professionals.

The rigorous architecture of tailoring outlines elevated details of subcultural streetwear, expressing Di Felice’s desire to incorporate a contrasting range of impulses into his razor-sharp definition of shape. Courrèges’ signature geometry is subverted through dissonant materials: heritage crepe is met with punk-ish wool caviar and glimpses of technical lingerie woven from an archival pattern. Combat boots are fashioned in stretch leather and worn thigh-high on men, blurring tropes of gender and tradition. It is convertible daywear seen through Nicolas Di Felice’s twisted take on tailoring.

The silhouettes are paired with varied iterations of the new ‘Cloud Bag’, a minimal shoulder bag reworked from a classic case bag into a streamlined and pillowy essential. Knuckle armours and oversized ‘satellite dish’ earrings complete the looks, amplifying the atmosphere of dissidence.

This collection is presented on January 20th, 2023 in an ephemeral space in the Marais. Its set is designed by French artist Rémy Brière: tubular white metal sculptures that emulate the articulated shapes of telephone antennas are camouflaged against immaculate white walls. Their mechanical arms are fit with screens that provide individual windows into the collection. A flock of flags chants the collection’s chorus line, a semantic motif developed by Courrèges’ house composer, Sene.

From the unrest of dissolving days comes a renewed spirit of community invigorated by a collective drive to reclaim the present: « United Resistance, Together in the Here and Now »