It has been a hectic summer for Co’s Stephanie Danan. In between finalizing the spring 2025 collection, she’s also been in the throes of planning a move to a new apartment which will mark her as “officially officially” living in Paris. “I’m getting the keys on October 1st and it’ll be the second to last day of market,” she explained over a Zoom from her showroom. “Basically, I have to pack all the boxes at night, and I have a child, so there’s also all this school stuff…” It’s a scene that will be familiar to many a working woman—when it rains it pours! It’s not surprising then, that the lookbook opens on an image of a woman wearing a white cotton shirt with a cowl neck and a wrinkly cotton maxi skirt, topped off with a cotton canvas workwear jacket, and sturdy flat leather sandals. On one arm an oversized leather tote bag, on the other, an oversized leather clutch. “It’s so funny to look at it that way, but it’s a reflection of exactly what I’ve been through and what I’ve needed to wear,” she added when I pointed out it seemed like a case of art reflecting life.
The personal anecdote wasn’t needed as proof that in recent seasons Danan has zeroed in on making clothes for women living very real, very full lives—all one needs to do is look at her lineup, which this season was dominated by utilitarian silhouettes in classic washed cotton canvas. But instead of just rehashing the same old silhouettes, Danan is fusing them with elegance and maybe even a sense of occasion. Like the long washed canvas coat with big patch pockets at the chest, with a very long cape-like back which can be draped dramatically across the body in the same manner as an evening coat. It is also outfitted with straps on the inside so that it can be carried like a backpack, something that serves both a practical purpose (it’s too hot for this coat!), and an aesthetic one (now I’m wearing an extravagant cape!). The designer also cut these same utilitarian pieces out of silk with a satin finish and in a semi-sheer cotton that had the appearance of a technical nylon, which imbued the collection with a bohemian explorer vibe in the case of the former, and a Y2k experimental energy with the latter.
“What I’ve realized is that I’d been sort of fighting my two cultures a lot, where I feel like occasionally I am a chic Parisian person, and then other times I am more of a practical American sportswear kind of person, because I have grown up in both cultures and I sort of have a love-hate relationship with both,” Danan said. “And in the last couple of seasons I’ve been like, ‘No, this is who I am,’ that the collections are a combination of the more feminine side and the need for utilitarian practical clothes that can keep up with you in the crazy life that we lead… that’s what makes it cool.”
