Here Comes The Sun

With a collection heavily inspired by American artist Judy Chicago’s pastel-bright masterpieces, creative director Sophie Delafontaine shines light on a new and empowered chapter of the Longchamp woman. Amy Yasmine discovers how the American artist’s framework has imbued feminism into the brand’s Spring/Summer ’20 collection, with an unexpected contemporary update.

- Amy Yasmine

Longchamp has come a long way since its debut runway show in New York a year and a half ago. At the time, the French leather goods powerhouse had just celebrated its 70th anniversary, giving creative director Sophie Delafontaine absolute carte blanche to kick things up a notch with its first trans-Atlantic défilé. “Elegant, but with a touch of eccentricity—and wildness!” Delafontaine was heard saying backstage at her Spring/Summer ’19 show, alluding to the collection’s Anita Pallenberg-esque fringed jackets and dresses. “I am not designing for static women.”

She has a point. With the brand’s roots deeply embedded within the spirit of travel, Delafontaine speaks for the 21st-century woman on the go. She is, after all, a mother of three with a multi-billion dollar legacy resting on her shoulders, so if anyone gets the gist, you’d best bet it’d be her.