The Bite Magazine - Spring/Summer 2025 - Issue 37

Giedre Jackyte admires artistic director Nicolas Di Felice’s Courrèges SS25 collection, which refines monastic minimalism. bitefashion N icolas Di Felice’s Courrèges collection felt like a qui- et meditation on time, blending the brand’s space-age legacy with a strikingly modern and unexpectedly in- timate approach. The designs were not flashy or overtly spectacular but conveyed a quiet intention. Rather than dwelling on nostalgia, the show unfolded as a calm reflection, treating the house’s legacy as a living, evolving idea and using form to explore freedom. It began with a striking piece: a black hooded cape that felt sharp without being severe, nodding to Courrèges’ 1960s space-age past without becoming trapped in it. Born in Belgium, Di Felice became interested in fashion after watching a Belgian music show and admiring the bands’ costumes. He attended La Cambre, an art school in Brussels, creating music on the side before fully committing to fashion after being hired by Nicolas Ghesquière at Balenciaga in 2008. He later worked at Dior with Raf Simons and reunited with Ghesquière at Louis Vuitton, where he became a senior womenswear designer. He was appoint- ed as artistic director of Courrèges in 2020. Rather than clinging to nostalgia, Di Felice took essential elements from those references and directed them toward a new path. The silhouettes felt fluid yet precise, with layers looping and folding in a way that suggested architecture rather than traditional tailoring. An ongoing movement thread anchored the collection: skirts peel- ing away from trousers, pieces shifting and evolving as if caught in mid-transition, and dresses appearing to split and rejoin in one motion. The collection featured clever constructions, exposed and con- cealed cutouts, and curved seams that mimicked motion—not in a literal, kinetic way, but in how they encouraged the eye to travel around the body. This collection didn’t shout for attention; it in- vited examination. The colour palette remained subdued, featur- ing black, white, stone, and flashes of pale citrus. The focus was on form, proportion, and the relationship between the body and the garment. Tops hugged the chest before falling away, coats wrapped like pro- tective folds, and trousers extended into trailing panels that floated behind the models as they walked. What made the designs excit- ing was their tactile quality. The fabrics avoided leather, knits, or overworked materials. Instead, the clothes moved with a grace that stemmed from restraint. This collection was designed for people who move, rest, and live in their clothing, emphasising wearability. SS25 had an ethos of intimacy. The collection wasn’t made for spec- tacle; it was created for presence. The designs acknowledged mo- tion in the runway walk and daily life, evident in a sleeveless top that twisted around the body or a split dress that followed the leg’s line without binding. Accessories were kept minimal, featuring the house’s signature crescent bag in smooth leather, understated and sculptural. Footwear was grounded, with rounded boots and strappy sandals that felt equally at home in a gallery or on the street. Hair was slicked back, and make-up was kept bare as if the clothes spoke for themselves. Di Felice didn’t aim to redefine Courrèges; he chose to refine it, stripping away distraction to let the lines speak them- selves. SS25 was a significant moment in the designer’s ongoing narrative, conveying its story gracefully, clearly, and vision. www.courreges.com/en-gb Courrèges Images courtesy of Lucien Pagès PR