October 5, 2025 |
In designing his latest collection for Vivienne Westwood, Andreas Kronthaler was thinking about boudoirs. He called them secret spaces, “without non-stop distraction”, where you’re “nearest to yourself. Where the truth lies”, as written in his show notes. He’s also called the brand’s latest fragrance Boudoir, inspired by scents from the Versailles Osmotheque, a favourite of Vivienne’s. You can imagine the Westwood muse for this season dousing themselves in the scent as they got dressed for a glamorous evening. Not too prim and proper, though. Kronthaler was more interested in a lived-in elegance, inspired by his summer on a Sicilian island (he now currently lives in Milan).
Staged inside L’Institut de France, his troupe of models came out in dresses made from lace, leather and loud prints on fabrics the designer had sourced rummaging through Italian markets. He had been studying old curtains which inspired the drape of many of his dresses, worn by the likes of Simonetta Gianfelici and Heidi Klum, who both made an epic return to the Westwood catwalk. While the gents donned easy-breezy suiting worn over unbuttoned shirts with Peter Pan collars, the women’s looks felt like the sort of pieces that could occupy your wardrobe for a lifetime. Those dresses you turn to time again that still look as great as the first time you put them on.
Photography courtesy of Vivienne Westwood.
