Leather for every Weather

Josephus Thimister, former creative director of Balenciaga, unveiled his Spring Summer 2012 collection upon Paris yesterday. He maintains a similar silhouette to other designers we have seen so far, but his collection has an interesting and unlikely twist: leather.

Leather? In summer? Just the idea makes me sweat… For someone who wasn’t into the Autumn Winter “fetish” look so much as Louis Vuitton, for example, Thimister surprised me with this collection. It’s subtle, but unavoidable – a wide waist leather belt stands out a treat against Thimister’s loose, monochrome layers. And this single design isn’t a strange exception; the entire Spring Summer collection sports the fashion house’s signature silhouette, with a solid leather element – sometimes only as subtle as one or two leather pockets.

However subtle Thimister’s use of leather, it’s not something we’re used to experiencing on the Spring Summer catwalk. There are many a-seasonal, transitional garments, but no one ever thought fashion would be coining the phrase: a leather for every weather…

Text Abbie Saunders