Jeanne Friot explored the notion of hysteria and how it has been used to control and disempower women through the years, turning the concept on its head and into a vision of escapism. “It speaks about how we can look at this world, hysteria, in a positive way and put it back where it belongs,” the activist designer explained backstage before her show, namechecking among her references Sigmund Freud, Niki de Saint Phalle and Marilyn Monroe, as well as how people used to visit women’s mental hospitals for entertainment in times gone by.

White, the dominant color of the collection, lent gravitas to her messaging, with her signature belting details suggestive here of straightjackets and their intention to constrain the wearer.

With a scream announcing the show’s debut, the opening look featured a model in a crinoline, beltstraps hanging loose from her bodice and tears at the hem, running erratically through the venue, a fitting demonstration of what was to come.

Friot went on to explore a range of effects offered up in monochrome, with designs that ran the gamut from slinky to sporty — a repertoire the designer expanded on this season — and everything in between, from a pleated organza shift à la Madame Grès with horizontal cinching to a Lycra body suit paired with heeled and buckled sandals that rose to the thigh. Breezy shirting was paired with cycling shorts, boxy outerwear with cropped kilts and hoodies, while shorts and slogan t-shirts intermingled with signature sheer mesh dresses in black-and-white check. Some dresses looked to be wrapped in plastic tape, echoing the strapping details.

For the final looks, Friot worked with latex artist Matisse Di Maggio, known for her work with Rick Owens, to create a top and a sharp-shouldered minidress adorned with hundreds of feathers dipped in latex, suggestive of a bird with tarred wings that prevented flight.