“This is Plein Circus,” said Philipp Plein, holding his young son Rocket. On the last night of the annual film festival, we were just minutes away from the show of the 1970 resort series at his villa in Cannes.
Colorful flowers were woven into green foliage as guests walked through arches filled with Hollywood lights and circus-themed cutout letters. A shimmering rainbow runway winds its way through the villa’s pool and fountains, which he calls La Jungle du Roi. The clothes fit; in fact, Plein brought his designers from his studio to his hotel to create the collection.
, dressy and period,” a response to post-pandemic demand for evening and cocktail dresses. Compared to the moody, rock-and-roll glamor of his latest fall collection, it Lighter and livelier, but it still lives up to the designer’s proud promise of anti-minimalism.
Models in clown-inspired makeup danced in the design like a barely-existent A fuchsia jacket and skirt set with rhinestone pinstripe detailing and a tangerine pleated miniskirt with padded shoulders, paired with cowboy boots in the same shiny hue. Some skirts look like 1970 silhouettes, a A breezy paisley-print sheer number in pastel and sky blue and another entirely encrusted with pink and lilac rhinestones, among others. Then, we get signature Plein Hedonism: a neon tie-dye maxi dress, Full of acid-house smiley faces.
Plein leads the final parade, hugs little rockets, models wink as Katrina and waves play “Walk in the Sun” Blink, suck the vampire. Even the runway buster, posing for the viewers’ iPhone cameras before being quickly removed, couldn’t break his smile.
