The Vaquera show started and ended with the same five, spiky-haired models in the same five glamorous gowns save for one major difference: the second round were made in neon highlighter hues and emerged as designers Bryn Taubensee and Patric DiCaprio serenaded the audience with Sonny & Cher’s “I Got You Babe.”
It was a delightfully vibrant, undeniably authentic final flourish that gelled with DiCaprio’s pre-show remark, “We’re being more true to ourselves, which feels really good.”
The duo, who have been showing in Paris for nearly five years (and previously in New York starting 2017), said the spark that lit their latest collection could be traced to the1920s and ’30s—more specifically, in archetypal uniforms. Of course, uniforms according to Vaquera never appear, well, uniform. Hence the stylized and sexy military grouping—a fitted jacket with a furled collar worn with jodhpurs; a cropped leather trench with a flounced skirt—but also cheeky, wearable versions of a chef (in a bubble-shaped romper plus toque), a French maid (a black satin playsuit plus organza apron), and a waiter (cropped jacket and tapered dress pants plus dickey).
As the models descended an Art Deco imperial staircase topped with cobra-headed posts, they wielded cigarette holders, flaunted black patent handbags in the crook of their elbow and obnoxiously chewed gum. They came across as different versions of that girl (boys included). As in, knowingly fabulous and definitely high maintenance in a dropped waist T-shirt dress or an oversized shrunken jacket with slouched jeans or a boyish leather jacket with belted hot pants.
If the era referencing seemed slightly disjointed, this was of less importance than the wry translations of coded characters. “There’s playing a role, and then there’s us playing a role as fashion designers,” said Taubensee. Indeed, there’s not much irony on the Paris runways, whereas Taubensee and DiCaprio added boater hats and two-tone shoes à la Coco to the bra tops and motorcycle shorts with a double wink. As for their live performance, especially choosing a song about enduring partnership: that was every bit sincere.
