Drew Henry presented his debut collection for Courrèges on Wednesday morning at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris, replacing the house's recent minimalist look with neon yellow, acid green, tangerine, burgundy and navy.
The show marked Henry's first outing since taking over from Nicolas Di Felice, who exited the French fashion house in March after roughly five years as creative director.
Henry stripped the staging down. The white box and conceptual backdrop Di Felice used at the Carreau du Temple were gone.
"I wanted something very simple for the venue, and the focus to be on the clothes, on the casting," Henry told Vogue before the show.
The color shift is deliberate. Henry said the archives pushed him in that direction. "Diving into the archives, I was struck by how colorful this brand is," he said. "There's so much joy, playfulness, but also a strong sense of sentimentality."
Courrèges was founded in 1961 by André Courrèges and his wife Coqueline, and became known for its Space Age silhouettes and vinyl fabrics. The house spent years in what Vogue described as creative purgatory before Di Felice revived its momentum.
Di Felice brought a younger feel to the label, reissuing its signature vinyl skirts and jackets at more accessible price points. His departure in March left the brand's direction open.
Henry's answer, at least on first look, is saturation. The palette he sent down the runway runs far from the restrained tones the house has favored in recent seasons.
Vogue's headline on its first-reaction piece was blunt: "Watch This Space."
The venue choice fits the message. The Palais de Tokyo sits in the 16th arrondissement and is known for contemporary art exhibitions rather than heritage fashion spectacles. Henry said he wanted eyes on the casting and the clothing, not the set.
Courrèges has changed hands and creative leadership several times over the past two decades, and each new designer arrives with pressure to either honor or break from the founders' futuristic vision. Henry's bet is that color, not concept, is the way forward.
Wednesday's show was the first public test of that bet. The house has not announced when the collection will reach stores.
