The uneasy relationship between fashion and technology paraded in Paris

In a completely dark room, a model emerges from a wall of mist holding a smartphone. Her face is illuminated by the light of the screen, while a Siri-like voice repeats the phrase «Is the sky blue?» on a loop. Nicolas Di Felice, creative director at Courrèges from 2021, does not do things by halves in his reflections on our daily relationship with technology: «I am not judging, but I am questioning myself and I wanted to try to think about the subject» he said on the sidelines of the show. A few hours later, Jonny Johansson also did something similar, addressing his relationship with nature and the way we are getting further away from it in the Acne Studios Autumn/Winter 2023 collection. «For this collection I was thinking about the dark winters we have in Sweden, where the light only lasts a few hours» the designer shared. «I have always liked the contrast between nature and urban life, the idea of an endless forest just around the corner. In Scandinavia, nature often collides with the city: the playground on one side of the building and the forest on the other. But living in such close contact with nature is becoming increasingly rare in our modern world.»

In practise, both collections interpreted this kind of rejection of technology in their own, almost opposite ways. At Courrèges, jackets and sweatshirts were designed to free up the hands that held smartphones in many looks, continuing the narrative of the show, while at Acne Studios, nature took over and invaded the set design and looks on the runway. Similar to The Last of Us, when civilisation collapses and nature reclaims its place, the set designed by Shona Heat was reminiscent of the forests that were part of Johansson's childhood, which are «ever changing, growing and transforming»as the Swedish designer put it. The colour palette of earthy greens and browns was inspired by rotting leaves and tree roots, while the fabrics that make up the clothes have been treated to look as if they have been ruined by dirt and rain. Nature also came into play in the accessories: discarded cans became earrings, bottle tops ended up on necklaces and wool hats resembled giant mushrooms.

Two approaches from two different eras and two different histories. Di Felice, who was born in the Belgian mining town of Charleroi and grew up with a passion for MTV, which he described in an interview for Vogue as "my window into fashion", and Johansson, who now lives permanently in Stockholm but constantly references his roots in northern Sweden in his work at Acne Studios. Both, however, reflect not only our everyday relationship with technology, but also the one fashion has developed in recent years when, aided by pandemic constraints, it began experimenting with digital shows, augmented reality and Web3, finding itself in the metaverse and NFT without really needing to. While technological input continues to be an integral part of a brand's creative process (we saw this a few days ago at Anrealage's show), we are also witnessing a progressive return to basics, be it a biting critique like Courrèges' or a convulsive search for simplicity on the catwalk.