“In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.”

Albert Camus

It was the longest ‘winter’ recorded in decades. A shapeless stretch of solid-grey skies, this year’s heavy climate is the canvas behind Courrèges’ SS25 Men’s and Women’s pre-collection. Dreaming the sunshine beyond the clouds, the collection incorporates cues of summer escapism in its revision of daywear classics. Shot by legendary photographer Mark Borthwick, the collection imagery captures the fleeting and raw poetry of Nicolas Di Felice’s latest renewal of the Courrèges wardrobe.

Key themes of FW24 resurface in this pared-back collection. Revisiting its ‘upside-down’ deconstruction in more lightweight fabrications than ever before, he prompts volumes to take flight. Floaty satin, workwear canvas and raw indigo denim evolve last season’s shapes, giving the silhouettes a sharp, 70’s-tinged dynamic. The ‘magic square’ mesh tops take the lead in both men’s and women’s looks, with selected styles sporting abstract graphics borrowed from hiking signage. The new ‘Friday Bowling’ bag’s baguette-like volume carries the accessories storyline forward, following in the season’s energetic step.

From the finishings of vintage scuba shorts, Di Felice extracted the defining features that compose his summer dialect. A volley of sun-filled mementos diffuse athletic accents in the detail of daywear archetypes. From asymmetric button-tabs that echo the construction of André Courrèges’ SS70 collection, to layered waistbands and oversized belt-loops that mimic climbing harnesses, the collection explores revitalised juxtapositions. Watersport-inspired pockets and slip-on diving shoes, adapted to the city in nappa leather and rich scuba jersey, evoke seashore expeditions. The remixed scuba biker is outfitted with a surf-inspired zipper-puller, and an extended locker-loop to hang it to dry after a day in the ocean spray.

Though the season opens with enveloping trench-coats that shelter the body from the storm, its unfolding operates as a treasure hunt, a quest for clues of forgotten adventures to recreate the joy of summertime in the grind of our daily lives. Through his avid attention to detail, Di Felice builds a genealogy of shape that binds the successive waves of his journey to a universal tale of escape – sweeping us altogether in the currents of adventure.