PAULE KA Autumn/Winter 2015-16 Ready-To-Wear PARIS FASHION WEEK

Meryl Streep wore Paule Ka to both the Golden Globes and the New York premiere of Into the Woods. A coup of this caliber can make for a nice brand boost—except that oftentimes, people don’t dare ask Streep what she’s wearing. But this hasn’t stopped the Parisian label from leveraging the association, most notably as inspiration for the Fall collection. The design studio looked back to Kramer vs. Kramer and Manhattan, updating Streep’s everyday ’70s style with stronger graphics, more pronounced vertical silhouettes, and a respectable amount of Lurex brocade. Whereas the coats felt current—boxy and bicolored, bouclé mixed with ridged vinyl, or tailored and belted—the satiny dresses could pass for vintage costume. As for the brocade, its abstracted patterning in blush and chartreuse qualified for the gray area between garish and glam. But make no mistake, most of the looks would be wearable through next season and beyond, from the twill wide-leg pantsuit to the textured polo dress.

Since January, Paule Ka has been under the direction of new CEO Catherine Gérardin Vautrin. Presumably, her top priority is to install an artistic director (founder Serge Cajfinger occupied both roles until his departure last year). For now, though, the studio is managing just fine.