Set at Paris’ Lycée Henri IV, one of France’s top-ranked public high schools, Enfants Riches Déprimés paints a picture that’s anything but rosy for Spring 2023. Distressed, depressed, aggressive, rebellious — the new season’s collection unveils the label’s darkest, yet oddly desirable, designs yet.
Serving a heavy dose on thick leather and metal embellishments (think spikes, chains, hoops and piercing-like charms), designer Henri Levy chose the show location with a purpose as he treated the development of the spring 2023 season for Enfants Riches Déprimés as a character study. The models, each convincing in their roles as troubled teenagers, showcased a series of looks that are sharply tailored, deliberately untidy yet stylishly layered and nonchalantly gathered.
The girls dressed in either weighty long dresses or pants paired with chunky belts and boots, thigh-skimming short numbers completed with visible suspenders, and sheer tops with bare chest on show. For boys, it’s button-up shirts in cotton and silk layered with either oversized, ruched leather trench or long distressed coat with loose hems. You can also spot a hint of gender fluidness as menswear styles included lacy vests, platform over-the-knee boots, arm bands and long gloves.
Levy noted that the collection’s pieces were not to be interpreted further than just aesthetics and emotions, but one can hardly miss the messages embedded in his designs throughout. T-shirts with Chariman Mao Zedong print (and famous caption: Sailing the Seas Depends on the Helmsman) and loose-fitting boots with NA initials (Narcotics Anonymous) all yearn for attention and change in the most critical spheres in the world right now.
Enfants Riches Déprimés’ AW22 collection is available now at www.enfantsrichesdeprimes.com.
