Make dance, not war. That could have been the subtext of Julien David's engaging show this afternoon, which was held at the Musée de l'Armée in Paris, a stone's throw from Napoleon's tomb. As David explained, his collectsion was inspired by a dancer friend who trained at the Bolshoi and is currently performing with the San Francisco Ballet; he said he wanted to capture not only her grace but also her incredible athleticism. With that in mind, the designer looked to create a feeling of movement in the clothes, an effect he achieved particularly well in skirts and dresses of bonded jersey that had a sculpted yet spontaneous-seeming flare. There was also a nice sense of dynamism in David's metallic pieces, made out of an especially light-catching lamé, which were some of the standouts of the show. The dance reference manifested as well in sheer tulle tees with a little off-center ruffle kicking out at the hem. One of the best ideas David had was to pair a dress-length version of the tee with a super-narrow pencil skirt with a matching ruffle; it looked fresh. That was one of the more straightforward looks, and in general it was the simplest stuff that fared best—a bonded jersey hoodie, a slouchy sweater with beads knitted into the marl and shirting fabric in the back, any of the several garments made from a fabric that looked like washed-out denim but wasn't. When the show really worked, it conjured genuine insouciance, the unmannered style of a dancer heading home from the studio after a day at the barre.
