Elisha Daniels Shares Paris Fashion Trends

Elisha Daniels isn’t a Parisian, but she might as well be. The fashion savant and Neiman Marcus personal stylist has been going to Paris once or twice a year since she was 10 months old. Clad in a vintage leopard Yves Saint Laurent fur coat and a red Alexander McQueen dress layered with Chanel pearls, Daniels met up with us after a trip to the fashion capital of the world to share some of the Parisian trends set to hit the U.S. in the upcoming months. At the top of everyone’s Christmas wish list this year? Daniels says: “A fur vest, whether it’s real or faux or shearling.”

What sets Paris apart from the rest of the fashion world?

Years ago, you went to Paris to see fashion that was special and new and completely different from what you saw at home. That’s just not the case anymore. The fashion world is so global—you see the same stores, and designers, and lines everywhere. I’m always seeking out young designers and small lines in little boutiques in Paris that you can’t find anywhere else. One of my favorites is Tara Jarmon, this beautiful feminine line with an amazing middle-of-the-road price point that looks like a couture product. Paule Ka is another line that’s not well known in this country but is amazingly beautiful.

This shot shows work from an array of different designers, revealing the camel, winter white, and blush trend, plus the sleeveless fur vest. The one global trend that we’ll see shortly in the resort collections is blush. Everything was blush. Anywhere from a baby soft pink to peach, but the nude blush family was everywhere. It was in furniture, in clothing, and in makeup.

Is the ath-leisure trend still going strong?

Everything was sneakers. Beyond anything I’ve ever seen. I know the sneaker trend has been huge now for a few years but everyone’s doing sneakers. Adidas has full fashion boutiques on every floor in the Galeries Lafayette. It’s not just a sprinkling here and there and like every line and every designer is doing a sneaker. Adidas is fashion. I don’t see that going anywhere.

What are the big prints for spring?

Florals are still a huge trend, but I saw a lot of botanical prints. Instead of florals for spring, you’re going to see botanicals and lots of bird prints. Prints are very personal. Not everyone responds to a print the same way. It’s interesting that designers are putting so much of their stock into prints. This one was by Tarajarmon, who’s a French designer known for really feminine pieces.

Another thing that’s going to be a huge trend is sailor stripes—it’s in Paris right now for fall, but it’s definitely going strong into spring and summer. Navy, red, and white stripes are always a spring staple, but designers are doing stripes in new ways: They’re making a lace dress and making stripes in ribbon and lace. The sailor stripe trend is going to be very big for resort spring.

Why is fur so big right now?

I think fur is big because a lot of the companies have come up with ways to make fur look modern.

Like this Yves Salomon red jacket—it’s not your grandmother’s mink coat or shrug. And it’s easy to throw on a fur vest with a pair of jeans and a cashmere turtleneck and look really put together. Fur isn’t precious anymore, it’s just fashion. The fur vest thing has been a huge part of the ’70s boho chic trend.

What else did you see in Paris?

I saw a lot of bright graphics like this amazing textured cotton Maria Luisa coat—lightweight but quilted. I see it as being a statement coat.

You can certainly dress it up or wear it with jeans. I think it speaks to what I was seeing in terms of graphic prints for the resort season—colorful and bright graphics.

This silk gown with the fur coat seems to incorporate both the print and fur trends. It’s all applique and embroidery on silk organza with a mixed media fur coat. And I loved the dress with the fur jacket because it went back to the fine fashion fur pieces that I was seeing. I could also envision that dress with a denim jacket, because it would look so cool. I believe the gown was Jean Giambattista Valli.

What’s happening over at Gucci?

Gucci is going back to its roots in a really modern way. Everything I’m seeing from Gucci, from apparel, shoes, and handbags, looks like that. It’s a design team to be watched, they’re taking all of the amazing heritage from the house of Gucci and making it very new looking.

I liked the mustard suit against the French toile wallpaper. The mustard Gucci coat over the black and white graphic Valentino dress shows such fun and sharp contrasts in color.