Guy Laroche Spring 2017 Ready-to-Wear Paris Fashion Week

It is Adam Andrascik’s fourth season at the helm of Guy Laroche and, boy, can he cut a great pant. It may not always be in the fabric that you’d prefer—dark sparkly denim, say, or a sheer plasticky nylon—but it is of optimal proportions, long of leg and high of waist, with the right amount of width and swing. In camel-color cotton, it might even make you reconsider khakis. That’s a force to be reckoned with. Andrascik sent out quite a few of those disarming trousers today at his Spring show for Guy Laroche, but even they couldn’t combat the slightly inexplicable, sheer iridescent, gridded fabric that he used to design much of the collection, or the slightly perverse (if not quite perverse enough) rubbery-looking raincoat that was punctured in clumps, as if by an overzealous punk.

What did work: those pants, of course; at least one very good khaki trenchcoat; and thin-ribbed knit items such as tank tops and slim, figure-hugging dresses. It may sound simple, but simple things, when very well done, can make a big difference. They are, for example, what real women tend to actually buy, in droves. If Andrascik can produce more pieces like those, he could very well turn Guy Laroche into a real powerhouse.