It was a great day for fans of all things French. Ami’s spring/summer 2023 show saw Audrey Tatou – who shot to fame as the doe-eyed heroine of the classic film Amélie some 20 years ago – return to the Sacré Coeur in Paris. Not only that, she was wearing an excellent trench.
The 45-year-old French star – one of creative director Alexandre Mattiussi’s favourite actors – opened the show, staged in Montmartre at dusk for maximum magic, as Catherine Deneuve and Carla Bruni watched from the front row (on bistro-style cane chairs, quoi d’autre?). Dressed in white jeans, ever so slightly slouchy boots and a silky shirt – all topped off with that classic trench – Tatou was a vision of Parisian chic.
It wasn’t the only major casting moment in the show, a mix of menswear and womenswear. The “purposely diverse” crowd assembled by Mattiussi also included Kristen McMenamy, Cara Delevingne, Paloma and Sage Elsesser, Mariacarla Boscono, Precious Lee, Mona Tougaard and Liya Kebede.
“Of all the neighbourhoods of Paris, Montmartre holds the most special place in my heart,” the designer said. “Montmartre is a concentrate of the spirit of this city, of its candour and energy, of its intertwined bourgeois and bohemian identities. There is a retro atmosphere like nowhere else in the capital: it is vivacious and delightfully cheeky.” Vivacious and delightfully cheeky also pretty much sums up Amélie Poulain, making Tatou an inspired choice to open.
