Bella Hadid on the runway for Lanvin at Paris Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 2020 today

The second Lanvin’s first look hit the runway today, I let out a sigh of relief.

Since Alber Elbaz’s departure as creative director in 2015, the French fashion house has been experiencing something of an identity crisis. It lost three new creative directors in three years, began operating at a loss, and released new collections to lukewarm critique.

By the time unknown designer Bruno Sialelli arrived to take over at the start of 2019, the brand’s future was under threat.

Only, like a diamond in the rough, his Autumn/Winter 2020 collection may have just made history as Lanvin’s new-century resurrector.

Lanvin presented fifty-six looks at Paris Fashion Week today and every single one of them was crafted to perfection.

Bella Hadid on the runway for Lanvin at Paris Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 2020 today

Mid-century perfection, in fact, reminiscent of the garments that Jeanne Lanvin built her brand on; cinched waists, elegant embellishments, thoughtful tailoring, and femininity galore.

Lanvin Autumn/Winter 2020 (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images) 

It was, pardon my French, Parisian AF.

While subtle prints and limited colour palettes kept focus on each piece’s technical mastery, glamour was executed best - and most commercially - with outwear. Particularly on that of fashion’s favourite supermodel sisters.

First, Bella Hadid hit the runway in a long stole-topped white coat, double-breasted with gold buttons and large logo-embossed pockets. Then, to close the show, Gigi Hadid emerged in an intricate beaded minidress peeking out from a sharp split-back black coat, paired with blood-red leather gloves.

But, where accessories are concerned, Lanvin’s intricately-stitched gloves hardly touched the surface.

Gigi Hadid walks the runway for Lanvin at Paris Fashion AW20

The handbags and shoes could have had a runway show of their very own.

Knee-high boots featured heels which curved into a ‘J’ shape, acknowledging Jeanne Lanvin’s cardinal influence, while many new bags materialized in the shape of oversized lipstick and compacts. With a few pâtisseries box-looking clutches thrown in for the Instagram generation.

A few models were even sent out in a headband-cum-hat-cum-swim cap creation inspired by the work of the late André Courrèges – the fashion designer credited defining the look of the 60s.

32-year old Sialelli was under an unimaginable amount of pressure to turn things around today and, with only a year under his belt, I think it’s safe to say things are looking up.