Since his debut with the Fall/Winter 2021 collection, Nicolas Di Felice has carried forward the optimistic vision of Courrèges founder André Courrèges, grounding it in real-world concerns and the warmth of human connection. Now, in early 2025, with a lingering winter chill and global tensions simmering, Di Felice presents his Fall/Winter 2025-26 collection—a response to uncertainty, wrapped in fleeting brilliance. Against a backdrop of celebratory confetti, he offers a moment of lightness, however brief.
The collection draws inspiration from artist Dan Colen’s Moments Like This Never Last (2010), part of his Confetti Paintings series. Colen began the series in 2009, in the emotional aftermath of his friend Dash Snow’s passing. Tossing confetti into the air and capturing its fall, he translated ephemeral joy into oil paint, freezing movement and memory. From afar, the result feels like a snapshot of revelry; up close, the colours blur into brushstrokes, hinting at time’s brevity and emotion’s depth. Di Felice found resonance in this fleeting beauty, making confetti both a symbol of celebration and a reminder of impermanence.
Much like a party destined to end, fashion’s seasons pass in cycles. Staring at the rectangular strips of confetti, Di Felice had a revelation: “I could make clothes from these rectangular fabrics.” This idea shaped the collection’s silhouettes—tops wrapped around the body like scarves, skirts folded from a single long piece, one end dangling at the side, swaying with each step. Pants and skirts adopt playful slanted cuts, coat buttons shift off-centre, and when left unfastened, fabric drapes like an open page. These dynamic constructions inject movement into Courrèges’ signature elements—trapeze skirts, tank tops, and biker influences—reimagining them with a sense of spontaneity. The One Minute Courrèges concept lives on in the effortless drape of these garments, as if one had simply thrown on a scarf and stepped out the door.
Materials and detailing heighten the collection’s energy. Silver snap buttons on long skirts glint as they move, an echo of Colen’s Stud Paintings, where metal studs punctuate soft canvas. Di Felice mirrors this contrast, using metallic elements to evoke a modern kind of armour—structured yet fluid, strong yet graceful. Tweed speckled with confetti, ostrich feathers sprouting from waists and lapels—these touches transform everyday essentials into objects of festivity. Color plays its part too, from bold blocks to soft fades, injecting warmth into the season’s mood.
