Julien Fournié, as a “guest member” of the Chambre Sydicale de la Haute Couture, is invited to present his collection during the Paris show schedule. But leave it to Julien to find a unique venue–he unveiled his 5th collection at Showcase, a boîte de nuit. Julien has a certain style (to call it “not classic” would be understatement), and perhaps it’s not completely Haute Couture–but there were many pieces in this futuristic fantasy that were quite fabulous.

The show began with a video about "elements"–which, in this case, meant mismatched images of lonely vistas like highways and construction sites. I wasn’t quite sure where Julien was going–but he told me later he’d been playing with a vision of the future, when women will have endless things to manage. They’ll be wives, mothers and company heads, working from morning to night–but, of course, they’ll still want to look sexy and chic!

My favorite pieces included a short, voluminous jacket with a peplum and a cinched waist; wide-legged pants with a sheer blouson (super chic); pants that narrowed to fit tight at the ankles, with little zips in the back (kind of sexy); a long coat with a low-cut decolleté, shown with skinny black pants; and a black knit sweater with big shoulders (a great piece to add to a more classic look, to shake things up a bit). Julien also showed a lot of flowing, transparent capes, which would be fun to wear in the evening.

Julien Fournié takes his bow, and then dances his way back

Two of Fournié"s models backstage, still in their runway looks

Some of Julien’s fashion-obsessed fans

Susan with French radio and TV journalist Harry Roselmack

Susan and Julien after the show

Yes, this was an “out there” collection–and perhaps the total look would be difficult for some people to carry off–but I saw many pieces that could work for me, and I appreciate Julien’s very modern approach to fashion. He’s a little wild and crazy, that’s for sure, but that’s also what I love about him!

Photographs by Stephane Israël