Patchwork normally wouldn't make for a romantic eveningwear couture collection, but remember this is Paris and this is Stéphane Rolland, who stayed true to form in more than one sense

by Jack Yan

Photographed by Frédéric de la Chapelle

TÉPHANE ROLLAND at Scherrer began with 16 menswear pieces that were stylish takes on traditional dressing. Quality tailoring is the order of the menswear collection: pinstripe suits, tapered jackets and jewelled “tango” trousers.
   The “tango” styles are elegant but Scherrer's remarkable item in the trouser department for the autumn–winter 2002–3 haute couture show was the use of rubber piping to tie the bottoms of legs. This led to a ballooning effect for these daywear items.
   The collection gradually evolved from the masculine to the feminine, as we had expected from a collection inspired by Mexican actress Maria Felix.

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Eveningwear has always been a Scherrer speciality and given Stéphane Rolland's preference for haute couture, audiences were in for a treat