MAXIME SIMOENS – PARIS F/W 2011 HAUTE COUTURE PRESENTATION VIDEO
Newly accepted as a guest member of La Fédération Française de la Couture, Maxime Simoëns presented his second ever haute couture line for the Fall/Winter 2011 season. Born in 1984, he has also become the first designer to be accepted by the Fédération before ever holding an haute couture runway show.
This season the buzz has been that haute couture is no longer outdated. Those claiming that it is a dying art are being silenced as more and more young people catch the drama, the allure, and the quality of couture. For example, Simoëns lists Mélanie Laurent, a young successful actress, as his muse, and plenty of other young A-list actresses have taken to his designs.
While his Spring/Summer couture collection during last season left plenty of people drooling with awe, after this show, there were pretty mixed feelings this time. Inspired by the film Nosferatu, Simoëns told a story of a movement from light to darkness through gothic-art deco inspired pieces. With the Yeah Yeah Yeahs blasting and dry ice smoking up the runway, the feel was dark and haunting. A pair of beige draped trousers paired with a jacket with ostrich-feathered shoulders really set a great mood as one of the opening looks. However, the repeated use of the color-blocked vampire fangs and angles were a bit too obvious, touching on the side of gimmicky. Moving throughout the collection there were other many beautiful pieces, such as the final looks with dangling chandlier crystals in the front and flowing, ghostly organza capes.
Seeing a new designer with such a fresh career ahead of him, it is clear that bringing in new blood, is exactly what the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture is after. Even though there were some missteps, on the whole, the collection still speaks to an evolving and creative sense.
MAXIME SIMOENS – PARIS F/W 2011 HAUTE COUTURE FASHION SHOW
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Fashion week coverage directed by Indira Cesarine
Article by Amy Tabarly
Video Directed by Indira Cesarine, edited by Karc Chan
Runway photos by Pascale V Marquis for XXXX Magazine
