A portrait of first-time participants showcasing their AW 14 Collection
PARIS – Four weeks of international AW 14 collection presentations ended in Paris on Wednesday, 5th March 2014.
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Meanwhile Paris Fashion Week gave the stage to internationally renowned designers as it does every season, it also gave the chance to emerging designers to showcase their latest collections for the very first time in the city of light.
Raphaëlle H’Limi opted for a traditional fashion show, Alexander Terekhov, Aline Ochoa, Redemption Choppers, Thomsen and Vetements chose to present their autumn/winter 2014 collection through a presentation.
In the following, the collection theme and the profile of these first-time PFW participants are being presented.
Raphaëlle H’Limi
With the fashion show ”Beautiful Chaos”, the graphic shape lover Raphaëlle H’Limi demonstrated her inspiration taken from grunge, California, ‘Riot Grrrrl’ and ‘Art Brut’. In a universe oscillating between geometry, poetry and cool, the AW 14 Collection consisted of make-up colours that were mixed with black graphics.
With a formation at ESAA Duperré and ENSAV La Chambre, a Master degree in Fashion Creation from IFM in Paris, a professional experience at Emilio Pucci, the designer Raphaëlle H’Limi started her own brand in Brussels in 2010 by showcasing her collection “Play the Game” and winning the “Grand Prix de la Création” in Paris in the same year. Today, she is acknowledged as a RTW designer based in Paris who offers arty and colourful silhouettes. She takes her inspirations from contemporary art and her looks are mixing volumes and cuts with casual pieces. The brand’s target are young urban girls who like the graphic and modern designs.
Alexander Terekhov
For his presentation, Alexander Terekhov was inspired by Hollywood chic and by the easiness and the abundance of the 70’s. When creating his collection, he had the image of an elegant and very self-confident girl who knew how to have fun. With his new approach to a leopard print, Terekhov created an ornament using the print itself and the shape of the animal. Different fabrics with the leopard print were also used and some of the fabrics and items were luxurious fox coats, coats made of flock fabric imitating leopard’s skin, sequins and lurex fabrics.
The designer is known for his aesthetic of luxe minimalism and he focuses on a precision cut using expensive fabrics. After graduating from the Moscow Institute of Fashion & Design, Terekhov started working for the House Yves Saint Laurent. In 2004 he established his own eponymous brand and in 2010 he joined Rusmoda Company.
Aline Ochoa
“Requim of an Automn Dance” – the title gave already a hint to the collection’s main theme, which was all about woods that were on the brink of their seasonal decline. Using colours that symbolise the energy of life at their press presentation, the Swiss and Mexican/Columbian duo Aline Barrero Ochoa and Tom Bauer Ochoa wanted to use signifiers such as red for the colour of blood and yellow as the colour of sun. The founders of the brand Aline Ochoa stated that they “started by doing pictures of leaves in this blast of colours that was surrounding us (…) it feels like the woods have one last blast before letting it all go”. Thus, the colours on the dresses were a memory of this experience that held the body of the Aline Ochoa women.
Aline Ochoa was founded by the Ochoa duo in 2011. Meanwhile Aline worked as a designer for fashion houses like Yves Saint Laurent, McQueen, Alaïa and Givenchy, Tom developed his visual experience as a photographer. The Parisian brand stands hence for a mix of design expertise with a strong visual touch.
Redemption Choppers
Characterized by sensuality, Redemption Choppers' AW 14 Collection invited us to “touch” at its presentation. Emblematic of a quintessential purity and devoid of any superfluous element, precise lines brought to the fore the use of fabrics that exacerbated the sense of touch: cracked bi-chrome leather, silk and cashmere, georgette, satin and fluffy materials or contrasting braids. The entire collection was designed as a wardrobe and it was free for personal interpretation. Revisited and rethought, the iconic items of the brand corresponded to the present: the tuxedo jacket and its perfectly tuned pants, the fluid runic and the exuberant robe, comfortable sweaters, the trench and the male T-Shirt.
Redemption Choppers was founded by Gabriele “Bebe” Moratti, Daniele Sirtori and Vanni Laghi in 2010. The brand is donating 50% of its profits to charities.
Thomsen
The “Thomsen Class” presentation stood this season for a man’s perfecto that was plunged into a pot of pink pain that was now worn by young girls. The new collection mixed the brand’s classics (shirts, jackets, shirt dresses, etc.) with some new touches: delicate mohair sweaters, colourful wool coats and denim. The DNA of Thomsen could still be seen through the prints, plaid and pop colours that were renewed by Japanese craftsmanship and a collaboration with Rafael Alterio, an artist who hand painted all the patterns.
After studying at the sudio Bercot and working for Chloé, Yvan Mispelaere and Christophe Lemaire, in 2009 Alix Thomsen created her epynomous brand in the aim to create a brand of clothes that also defines itself as a state of mind. Classic and audacious, Thomsen mixes retro prints with modern cuts meanwhile playing upon genders and identities with humour.
VETEMENTS
Using tailoring as an integral part of the AW 14 Collection, VETEMENTS offered casual street pieces with a spontaneous feel. At the presentation, these latter took the form of re-worked vintage 501, bustier jogging pants, leather track tops, oversized t-shirt dresses and the like. This collection redefined the idea of the wardrobe and proposed it in contemporary new volumes and dimensions with a surrealistic twist. Co-branding collaborations with French speciality manufacturers such as Agnelle for leather gloves, Aperlaï for leather thigh high and ankle boots and pumps and Gerbe for body stocking accessories completed the collection of “staged brutalist basics”.
The brand is an international collective of individuals from Belgium, Austria, Ex-Soviet Union and France. The academic background of the team members includes the Royal Academy of Fine Arts (Antwerp), die Angewandte (Vienna) and Studio Bercot in Paris. Maison Martin Margiela, Balenciaga and Céline are part of their professional experience. VETEMENTS is about clothing, timeless personal style and not about fashion nor trends.
- Görkem Hayta