At Co, Stephanie Danan is in her leather era. “We got excited with pre-fall doing leather in different colors, and then we just went crazy for fall,” she explained on a Zoom from Paris where she was gearing up for market appointments. “I think that when you’re working with these kinds of ‘reinvented classics,’ you have to really think, ‘How do I keep my minimalist aesthetic but still bring textures so that things have depth?’”
Leathers were indeed the luscious vehicle for Danan’s experiments with layering—an oversize sleeveless vest worn underneath a sleek midi length open-front jacket, their front panels alternatively layered on top of each other (vest-jacket-vest-jacket instead of vest-jacket) for a pop of contrast, and secured with an extra long belt was the coolest example. Other standout pieces were cobalt blue and dark mahogany leathers, ultramarine blue cotton poplins, rich garnet and burnt orange wools. Danan called it “color without color” but there was nothing subtle about it.
She was thinking of a “kind of bourgeois woman from the Left Bank,” and “an intellectual,” evident in the ease of her silhouettes: a skirt was draped and gathered around the body to create the illusion of multiple layers in a way that had a spur-of-the-moment energy (Danan also made a version as a strapless dress). A double-breasted jacket was cut with an additional front panel to give the illusion of two jackets instead of one (a built-in version of the vest-and-jacket styling trick mentioned above). It was the kind of piece that would be a no-brainer purchase, even for someone with a closet full of elegant jackets—or even for someone with none. There was also a sense of playfulness and movement injected through the use of fringe: a fringed slip dress worn underneath a fringed cape; but more crucially, a fringed turtleneck dickie (yes, a dickie!) in a cozy marled wool that hit at mid-thigh. It was shown layered underneath one of her handsome utilitarian jackets done in leather, and worn with a matching leather skirt. Holding it all down were a series of classics, a great dark wash denim midi skirt, a woolen peacoat with an oversize collar, button down shirts with contrasting collars, great slouchy—but not oversize—trousers. What’s not to like?
