Words and by Joseph Benjamin

Since 1958, Leonard Paris has made its name the world over by celebrating the power of bold prints and interpreting femininity through the exotic flora of lush gardens and jungles. From Paris to New York, Iceland to Polynesia, and Europe to Asia and Africa, the Leonard Paris clientele travels the globe in vivid colors and patterns informed by the House’s rich archives of more than 5,000 original motifs.

For Spring 2020, designer Christine Phung injects the label with high-tech, sporty twists for today’s active lifestyles. A seductive, modern, day-to-night wardrobe centers on reinterpreting the energy of the Seventies through a contemporary prism. “What interests, me is women’s quest for liberty in that period: it was a time of joie de vivre, euphoria and freedom of movement,” the designer explains. 

As if fractured by the facets of a disco ball, painterly Pointillist motifs, pulsing, colorized sound waves and pixelated patterns capture the rush of a night on the town, conjuring images of Bianca Jagger, Farrah Fawcett, Grace Jones and Donna Jordan, Andy Warhol’s androgynous, platinum muse. 

Revisited in new scales and proportions, four quintessential Leonard motifs gain fresh currency while flou takes on new structure. Fluid fabrics and fitted cuts embrace athleticism and emancipation, from yoga-inspired brassieres to a plunging halterneck dress in pleated silk voile, its waist cinched with a signature Leonard patterned band. 

The expert anatomic placement of flowers — orchids, arum lilies, and birds-of-paradise — adds to the sensual appeal of silhouettes that blend body-con and draping. Pastels mingle with stronger colors; a canary yellow blouse with print trim displays the ease of a cape; a sharp-shouldered black gown indulges flights of fancy in fragmented panels of print. An evening coat in super-fine technical taffeta with a mirror finish glistens as it defines the silhouette, while re-colorized, printed jacquard lends a discreet edginess. Elaborate embroideries merge with prints, sportswear fuses with fringe, asymmetrical draping, and laminated finishes conjure movement, and glossy jacquards look ready to dance ‘til dawn. 

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