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Paris Women Fashion Week: the talents to keep an eye on
by Modem – Posted March 11 2021
© Modem

Paris Fashion Week opened from March 1 to 10 with a rich calendar, including iconic fashion houses and young designers, who presented their Fall-Winter 2021 collections through online presentations on the official website of the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode and on their own websites.

Modem selected 14 brands belonging to a new generation of designers who unveiled their collections during the Paris fashion week fall-winter 2021 edition.

WOS see Video
Andrey Artyomov is the designer behind the Wos (Walk of Shame) brand, launched in 2011. Born in Ufa, Russia, Artyomov studied fashion design at university and after he got an internship at L'Officiel Russia, by becoming an editor at the magazine. Fun, fresh and original, the style of the brand mixes feminine clothes and pieces from the male wardrobe. The label presented the SS 2018 collection for the first time during New York Fashion Week. The FW 21 collection, showed during Paris fashion week, is a hymn to its roots, among graphic patterns, transparent materials and shiny fabrics.

WEINSANTO see Video
Victor Weinsanto is a Parisian designer born in Strasbourg. He founded his eponymous brand in 2020 and he is one of the young designers who have benefited from the Dover Street Market Paris program, the talent incubator launched a year ago in the French capital. Thanks to his training in dance which taught him to love the show, his presentations always have cabaret and jovial themes. Weinsanto has a long experience in the fashion industry, he worked at Jean Paul Gaultier, after having worked at Y/Project, Maxime Simoens and Chloé. For the FW 21 collection, presented online for the first time as part of the official Paris fashion week calendar, he takes inspiration from the mythical figures of courtesans, showing strong and extravagant couture looks.

KOCHÉ see Video
Christelle Kocher founded her brand Koché in Paris in 2014. Graduated from Central Saint Martins and the 2019 Andam Prize winner, the French designer is known for her streetwear pieces impregnated with a chic and couture touch. Kocher worked at Emporio Armani, Martine Sitbon, Sonia Rykiel, Chloé, Dries Van Noten, and Bottega Veneta, and in 2010 she was appointed artistic director of Maison Lemarié, the atelier specialized in plumassier owned by Chanel. For her FW 21 collection, unveiled with a video, she uses the metaphor of the phoenix, the mythic bird that symbolizes rebirth, in reference to this particular period.

OTTOLINGER see Video
Christa Bösch and Cosima Gradient, both from Switzerland, are the designer duo behind the young women's ready-to-wear brand Ottolinger, founded in 2015 and based in Berlin. The label, inspired by an unconventional fashion, was born from the meeting of Christa and Cosima at the Academy of Art and Design HGK in Basel. Their collections tout the importance of the materials. The FW 21 collection named “future-elf" features healing knits, comforting dresses, exaggerated and dreamlike prints by Cheyenne Julien. It is inspired by the themes of rebellion, resistance, transformation of tradition, and defiance of authority.

COPERNI see Video
Coperni is a women's ready-to-wear and accessories label created by Sébastien Meyer and Arnaud Vaillant in 2013. Coperni won the 2014 edition of the Andam Prize and was the finalist of the Prix Lvmh in 2015. In the same year, Sébastien and Arnaud appointed artistic directions of the brand Courrèges, an experience they held for just two years until July 2017. Their style is minimalist and sophisticated, with details that make the difference.

MARINE SERRE see Video
Marine Serre was born in Corrèze and founded her eponymous label in 2017, four years ago. With her first collection, she won the Lvmh prize. Considered the pioneer of upcycling, Marine Serre focuses on environmental protection, in fact, the designer’s fashion purpose is to implement an ecological change, by recycling fabrics and giving them a second life. Marine Serre promotes innovative solutions for the transition to circular fashion. The brand combines classic French couture shapes, sportswear references and fabrics with an eco-futuristic vision.

LOURDES see Video
Andrea Aresti debuted with his brand Lourdes at Paris Fashion Week in February of last year during the lockdown. The young designer, son of immigrants from Queens, started working in the fashion industry when he was 17 at Gypsy Sport, later with Tim Coppens, Kanye West, Giorgio Armani and Stefano Pilati for the launch of Random Identities. The label took the name of Aresti’s mom and their collections are produced in Italy. The designer unveiled the FW 21 collection with a video shot in an apartment in Milan titled “Ascension,” about the period of optimism after the lockdown. The looks are easy to wear and comfortable, and including jeans, t-shirts, shirts, down jackets.

UJOH see Video
Born from the imagination of Japanese designer Mitsuru Nishizaki in 2009, Ujoh debuted in Paris last year leaving the calendar of Milan fashion week where it has been present since 2016. In March 2021, the brand made its debut as part of the official calendar of the Parisian fashion week. Alum of Yohji Yamamoto, Nishizaki created a brand that features a deconstructed style typical of Japanese designers.

THEBE MAGUGU see Video
Thebe Magugu, a South African designer who grew up in Kimberley, founded his namesake luxury brand in 2016. The brand, the winner of the 2019 Lvmh Prize and the prize at the International Fashion Showcase in London, explores the condition of women in South Africa sending through each collection a very important political message, featuring structural and asymmetrical dresses. The designer presented his new collection dedicated to next fall-winter season with the film entitled “Ultimate midnight angel,” directed by the photographer and his South African collaborator Kristin-Lee Moolman. The video recalls the tradition and history of his homeland. The collection, which is a tribute to his home country, draws on modern pieces and elements that evoke South Africa, such as colors, draperies, and materials. Magugu worked with designer Noentla Khumalo for the prints on the fabrics.

ANREALAGE see Video
Kunihiko Morinaga founded his brand Anrealage in 2003. In recent times he started to explore a new way to make clothes mixing fashion and avant-garde technology. At Pitti Uomo in January 2020, Morinaga presented a capsule collection created with Tokyo Knit, an association of 180 Japanese knitwear specialists. The Japanese designer also worked with the Italian luxury house Fendi for the FW 20 collection, on the technological aspect. As part of Paris Fashion Week, Morinaga revealed an original collection that combines pied-de-poule, fantasy prints, checks, and jacquard.

AURALEE see Video
Japanese designer Ryota Iwa was born in Kobe, Japan in 1983. He studied at Bunka Fashion College and presented his first Auralee SS 2015 collection in Tokyo. The brand focuses on polished and relaxed silhouette, using high-end textiles made in Japan, emphasizing quality and attention to detail. Auralee became a very known brand on the international market thanks to its collaborations, such as the one with New Balance for the FW 21 season.

HELIOT EMIL see Video
Based in Copenhagen and created by the two brothers Julius and Victor Juul, the brand pays homage to their great-grandfather, after whom Heliot Emil is named. The label debuted during Milan Fashion Week with the SS 17 collection and since then has been recognized for its provocative style, asymmetrical pieces, and the use of different materials. The FW 21 collection leans toward the black which is the signature of the brand (except for some neutral color), layering, and metallic details.

KENNETH IZE see Video
Kenneth Ize, the young Nigerian talent, made his debut on the Parisian runways in February 2020. He was the finalist of the Lvmh prize in 2019, and he was considered the protégé of Naomi Campbell, who walked the runway for his show on the occasion of the Arise fashion week (the African fashion week), in 2020. He also created a capsule collection for the homonymous label of Karl Lagerfeld, mixing his heritage with the identity of the French fashion house. The brand celebrates craftsmanship and is known for its colorful designs and the use of Nigerian Asoke fabrics.

DAWEI see Video
Dawei Sun, a Chinese fashion designer and Parisian lover, launched his own brand Dawei in 2016. He studied Fine Arts in China and trained at the Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne. From 2011 to 2013 he was the artistic director of the Maison Cacharel, together with Ling Liu, an experience from which he learned above all the color schemes and Liberty prints. Dawei expresses with his collections, developed in his atelier in Beijing, a minimalist style with deconstructed lines and couture accents. He is known for his fashion very architectural and the use of high-quality materials.

Photo: The designer Christelle Kocher with the models at the final of Koché FW 21.

Texts by Anna Rita Russo@modemonline