Independent designers were all over the Parisian runways this season. Their common denominator? Thinking outside the (fashion) box.
ANREALAGE
The Japanese brand Anrealage debuted at Paris Fashion Week with a conceptual performance themed on the contrast between lights and shadows. Kuniko Morinaga, the brand’s designer, experimented with photosensitive fabrics, through a process called photocromie. In this sense, the fabrics were treated with a specific ink, and therefore reacted to changing colors and lights. The designer played with shades of black and white through removable cutout leather pieces, which left fishnet-resembling patterns behind. Hand-stitched elements, such as pearls and metal studs, added a precious twist to lady-like coats and dresses, while the garments’ sharp cuts and geometric structures had an avant-garde appeal - and gave a whole new meaning to the concept of elegance.
HOOD BY AIR
Genderless and fearless - Hood By Air spiced things up at Paris Fashion Week. The New York-based brand took over the Tour Montparnasse, turning its top floor into a club-like venue squatted by good-girl-gone-bad models. While the tripping beats of DJ Venus X and Fatima Al Qadiri echoed in the raw concrete rooms of the presentation space, Hood by Air revealed its Spring/Summer 2015 collection - the second part of a fashionable trilogy. By turning Ego, the collection previously showcased in New York, into Superego, Shayne Oliver, the brand’s Creative Director, aimed to express his very own take on gender-bending, sports inspired ready-to-wear. It's interesting to mention that the title of the collection has a contradictory meaning: in Freudian psychoanalysis, the Superego plays a moralizing role; Shayne Oliver on his side, aims to break with morals and restrictions. In this sense, Hood by Air’s journey is not over yet: the last part of the trilogy, named Id - say hello to Dr. Freud again - will be unveiled in October at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
LEA PECKRE
Embraced by grace and beauty, Léa Peckre’s Spring/Summer 2015 collection was all about feminine elegance. The La Cambre-trained, Paris-based designer, who also won the 2011 Hyères Festival, worked on the concepts of versatility and wearability. In this sense, the silhouettes week sleek and rigorous - inspired by the geometric aesthetics of Russian artist Nicolas de Stael and Venezuelan artist Jesus Raphael Soto - while remaining extremely flattering to the woman’s body. Soft and rigid materials created a perfect harmony between various textures. Elements of traditional Japanese clothing could be spotted - think kimono-resembling jackets tightened at the waist by thick belts. Peckre also added a soft side to the collection, by playing with sheer tulle, which blurred the edginess of volumes into more romantic shapes. All in all, the designer made a successful debut at Paris Fashion Week - and the best is yet to come.
JACQUEMUS
The world is a playground for Simon Porte Jacquemus. The self-taught designer is constantly inspired by the fashion codes of his decade - the 90s - and has made a name for himself by fusing sensuality, bourgeoisie and pop authenticity with a hint of that certain French je-ne-sais-quoi. In this sense, his new Spring/Summer 2015 collection, couldn't be anything else but playful. In fact, the Jacquemus girl lost her clothes somewhere on a beach - they probably have been swept away by the wind, just like the bunch of parasols that formed the show's set-design - and is desperately looking for new clothes to wear. The designer therefore improvised a range of candy-hued striped silhouettes adorned with cartoonish patterns, which made a nod to both, the stripy fabric of beach lounge chairs and the work attire of ice-cream vendors. Wagging tongues would have it that Jacquemus' teenage-like aesthetics lack in commercial potential, but the designer couldn't care less: he knows how to enjoys himself, and his passionated commitment to fashion always makes for a good show.
VETEMENTS
VETEMENTS is the brainchild of seven fashion designers, who graduated from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, Die Angewandte in Vienna, and Studio Berçot in Paris, and who all previously worked for Maison Martin Margiela. Their backgound experience at Margiela, combined with a highly conceptual approach to fashion, convinced them to stay out of the limelight and to keep a somewhat secretive feeling around their brand's identity. For its second collection, VETEMENTS stayed faithful to its experimental aesthetic, that explores new sartorial possibilities, while breaking with the new "normcore" trend. Volumes and silhouettes are consequently pushed to extreme, and inspired by the early 90's - Margiela says hi - and classic French elegance. Aside from its androgynous style, the collection also came with a touch of sexiness - think over-knee boots paired with overcoats, that revealed the models' bodies underneath. In this sense, VETEMENTS design statement was clean and strong - and will certainly keep press and buyers interested.
IRIS VAN HERPEN
Iris Van Herpen has always been about expressing her thoughts on femininity through a highly conceptual take on Haute Couture. She has made a name for herself by mingling art, design and technology into one-of-a-kind Couture pieces, and was recently rewarded for her unique take on fashion by the 2014 edition of the ANDAM awards. Needless to say, the bar was set high for her second ready-to-wear show in Paris, but Van Herpen was confident and managed to prove that she’s able to dilute her dynamic sculptural shapes into desirable ready-to-wear pieces. For the sake of this collection, the designer teamed up with two fellow artists, namely Canadian architect Philip Beesley and the Dutch sculpture and installation artist Jolan van der Wiel, whose respective works evolve around the subjects of magnetic fields, motion and engineering. In this sense, Van Herpen applied three dimensional injection moulding as detailing on jumpsuits, and on further figure-hugging numbers, which expressed her penchant for sculptural and organic aesthetics, and made for interesting forms on some of her wearable pieces. François Henri-Pinault, Kering’s CEO and the designer’s mentor, nodded approvingly while watching the runway show at Centre Georges Pompidou - just like the rest of the audience.
CHRISTINE PHUNG
A former ANDAM winner - Prix des Premières Collections, 2013 - Christine Phung showcased her first womenswear show for Spring/Summer 2014, on the official Paris ready-to-wear schedule, and is now on the edge of becoming global. The Paris-based womenswear designer is reputed for her intellectual and sensitive take on fashion. In fact, the designer studied Fine Arts and Applied Arts in Paris (École Duperré), and eventually graduated from the IFM, and was hired by Christophe Lemaire for his eponymous brand straight after her. Her work is influenced by screen printing, object and graphic design, next to volume and shape studies, and textile design. “My obsessions and questions that I raise in my work - the ones that reflect identity, the human body, architecture, skin, texture, and movement - all naturally brought me to fashion design,” the designer told Nowfashion. In this sense, Phung dedicates a great amount of attention to craftsmanship: “I like the idea of revisiting traditional techniques, such as pleats, patchworks, embroideries, and lace, and at the same time, try to imagine ways to shift their original looks and use, either by very modern graphics, or by eye-popping colors, and unexpected shapes.’’ This season, Phung took her concept a little further and presented her most graphical and wearable collection so far.
RAHUL MISHRA
New Delhi-based womenswear designer, Rahul Mishra, did his runway in Paris this season - and the result was quite promising. Think delicate appliqué and handwoven embroideries on appealing women’s cocktail dresses. Previously, the designer has been nominated as the India and Middle East winner of the 2013/14 International Woolmark Prize. Mishra was awarded USD$50,000 and created a capsule collection crafted from merino wool to compete with the four other Woolmark finalists from the US, Asia, Australia, and Europe. His work was able to convince Woolmark’s international jury - which included industry leaders such as Vogue Italia’s Editor-in-Chief, Franca Sozzani; Gucci’s Creative Director, Frida Giannini; and Style.com’s Editor-at-Large, Tim Blanks - and the Indian designer was consequently named the official winner. In addition, he was given the opportunity to be stocked at reputed international retailers, including Harvey Nichols, Saks Fifth Avenue, 10 Corso Como, Joyce, David Jones, Colette, and Mytheresa.com. “I am very proud that I could show a new side of Indian fashion and represent India’s craft at the highest level,” said the designer, when asked about how he felt about presenting his work to an international level.
ESTEBAN CORTAZAR
Esteban Cortazar is no newbie to the fashion industry anymore. And yet, his collections have the potential to thrill the audience over and over again, as they always convey a luxurious and unique feeling, being sophisticated and highly wearable at the same time. The Columbian-born designer was just 17 when he showcased his first collection at New York Fashion Week, and was named Creative Director of Ungaro at only 23. He eventually left the brand when Lindsay Lohan was appointed as a Creative Consultant; and focused on his own brand, which included launching 2 collections exclusively with Net-A-Porter. Today, Cortazar is not only back on the runway, but also announced the expansion of his eponymous brand with the support of London-based investment firm, MH Luxe. “It is a partnership based on a shared vision to build the house of Esteban Cortazar into a luxury ready-to-wear and accessories brand with a global reach,’’ explained the designer in an official release. Fashion-wise, his latest collection showcased during the Spring/Summer 2015 ready-to-wear season in Paris is described as being informed by the tensions between freedom and restriction, transcendence and transgression, stillness and drama - it is compared to a body where fabrics, textures and identities of the past, are 're-vised' into a new beginning for the wearer.
Elisabeta Tudor & Cecilia Musmeci
