The first spring collection by Barbara and Lucia Croce for Vionnet marks the next stage of evolution of the house, combining invention with reinvention, the influence of the twenty-first century with the timeless and enduring modernity of the Vionnet vision. Madeleine Vionnet sought to dress a body, not construct a dress: today, the label continues her ethos, dressing a woman not just for evening but for every moment of her day.

Fluidity and organic movement are the key inspirations for the collection, every garment an exercise in lightness and sensuality. After focusing on tailoring for winter, this collection is an explosion of feminine dressing, soft and supple. A true search inside the archive for the very soul of Vionnet.

Barbara and Lucia Croce continue to evolve the house’s signature Intarsio – the inlaying of one fabric into another. This time, it is not only a key technique for construction, but an inspiration for prints, the pattern given trompe l’oeil effect to resemble different fabrics juxtaposed. Rendered as a blown-up floral, the pattern adorns full and short dresses for day, and is printed onto sequins for a stand-out evening column.

Fabrics are tactile, sensual, inviting the touch. Double silk georgette, techno-cady and silk jersey have body, while the signature Vionnet crepe and crepe de chine adds a delicacy. Micro-plissé fabrics animate the surfaces of bright separates, adding a new three-dimensionality. A foulard inspiration ensures fabric flutter and float around the female form, while drapery adorns not only the house’s signature gowns, but short day-dresses in crisp poplin and sleek, clean jump-suits with a nonchalant elegance.

Colours propose a new monochrome, combining graphic bands of black with soft, feminine pastel shades of lilac, blush and orchid pink. Other key colours are strong, vibrating with modern energy, sophisticated but unusual contrasts of papaya and mulberry, always grounded on purest white.

Accessories subtly echo the key themes of the collection. Shoes have inlays of contrast leather on vamp and heel, envelope clutches are folded into a signature Vionnet pleat and Intarsio is reinterpreted as an intricate jigsaw of precious skins, python against lizard, calf against pony, on a classic minaudière.