JIKI - PARIS F/W 2012 BACKSTAGE Jiki, a label based out of Monaco, presented their Fall 2012 collection in Paris for the first time with new artistic director Mehdi Soussane. The collection marked a departure for the label guided by Soussane, who has worked for Lacroix, McQueen, Givenchy, and most recently at Ungaro. Soussane was inspired…
JOHN GALLIANO - PARIS F/W 2012 FASHION SHOW Bill Gaytten, in his second season at the helm of the John Galliano fashion house, offered up a subversive collection worthy of Galliano, himself. The super short hems, hourglass silhouettes, thigh-highs and transparency all suggested a Victorian woman come undone, but, in fact, the main inspiration came…
K11 - PARIS F/W 2012 FASHION EVENT K11 is an organization that promotes young talents working in art and culture, giving them an opportunity to share their work on an international stage. Following last year’s success, K11 once again presented their “Paris, Bonjour!” show in Le Pavillon Vendome. This year’s theme, “Lightness of Being,” was inspired…
LIE SANG BONG - PARIS F/W 2012 FASHION SHOW The Fall 2012 collection from Korean designer Lie Sang Bong stirred controversy as he sent models down the runway with carefully painted brown splotches covering the center of their faces. Bong, who counts Lady Gaga and Rhianna among his fans, stated that the collection was about…
LUTZ - PARIS F/W 2012 FASHION SHOW Lutz Huelle was inspired to design his Fall/Winter 2012/2013 collection while watching people cover themselves up in response to sudden unexpected rain showers. Huelle was interested in the way people threw clothes over their heads, and pulled collars closer together. He translated this into his collection’s silhouette, which he…
MANISH ARORA - PARIS F/W 2012 FASHION SHOW Indian fashion designer Manish Arora presented a Fall 2012 collection influenced by the “surreal and deconstructed iconography” of Brooklyn street artist Judith Supine. Arora created prints that melded fluid drawings of faces and bodies in neon prints, using them on his jackets, dresses, and skirts. Other looks…
MASHA MA - PARIS F/W 2012 FASHION SHOW Masha Ma has continually focused on the idea of unraveling the feminine form, and in her Fall 2012 collection this theme took new shape thanks to inspiration from Oscar Wilde’s fairy tale,The Nightingale and the Rose. The collection consisted largely of black and white floor-length evening gowns that…
NICOLAS ANDREAS TARALIS - PARIS F/W 2012 FASHION SHOW Greek designer Nicolas Andreas Taralis took on Asian martial arts influences in his Fall 2012 collection, saying that the looks were, “Kurosawa meets Blade Runner.” The gothic, Zen pieces of the collection featured jackets and coats with quilted labels and sashes reminiscent of Karate gis with…
PEACHOO + KREJBERG - PARIS F/W 2012 FASHION SHOW Peachoo Datwani and Roy Krejberg merged their culturally diverse design aesthetics, she’s from India and he’s from Denmark, in their Fall 2012 collection for their label Peachoo+Krejberg that showed models in preparation for an arctic winter. Jackets were hooded and leather was fur-lined, with puffy sleeves and vests,…
SELIM MOUZANNAR - PARIS F/W 2012 FASHION PRESENTATION Selim Mouzannar is a jewelry designer out of Beirut who comes from a long family tradition of jewelry making. His Fall 2012 collection, like all of his designs, was romantic with a modern touch, taking inspiration from his native city Beirut. The pieces draw on traditional Ottoman style…
SHARON WAUCHOB - PARIS F/W 2012 FASHION SHOW After her well received collection for Edun at New York Fashion Week, Irish designer Sharon Wauchob showed the Fall 2012 collection of her eponymous line that played with luxe, feminine modernity. Wauchob played with her fabrics, adding pleats, layering silks, and piecing together organza with wool and…
SHIATZY CHEN - PARIS F/W 2012 RUNWAY Chinese designer Shiatzy Chen’s F/W 2012/13 collection, Weaving a Dream, draws from the Miao culture of Southern China and Southeast Asia to inform Chen’s contemporary designs. The Miao people were culturally isolated for centuries, leading them to create forms of embroidery and totems that express their history and…
STEFFIE CHRISTIAENS - PARIS F/W 2012 FASHION SHOW Working at the atelier of avant-garde houses Balenciaga and Maison Martin Margiela has finely honed Dutch designer Steffie Christiaens construction and imagination, clearly influencing her Fall 2012 collection inspired by ice. Christiaens imagined her designs as ice that had been corrupted by pollutants, in gray, black, and white,…
TALBOT RUNHOF - PARIS F/W 2012 FASHION SHOW The design team behind Talbot Runhof, Johnny Talbot and Adrian Runhof, were inspired to create their Fall 2012 collection, Bésame Mucho, after watching Anne Bancroft’s masterful performance as Nora Dinsmoor in the 1998 film adaptation of Great Expectations. The pair identified with the young woman who was…
VANESSA BRUNO - PARIS F/W 2012 FASHION SHOW Vanessa Bruno, known for her Parisian chic ensembles and recent American popularity, thanks to her first store in LA, presented a darker collection for Fall 2012 that showcased Bruno’s muse, a pixie-like girl with a hard, contemporary, city edge. The muted palette of bottle green and violet…
VÉRONIQUE LEROY - PARIS F/W 2012 FASHION SHOW Véronique Leroy is a master of all things volume and oversized, channeling that into her Fall 2012 collection to create a wardrobe made for a rebellious girl trying to become a productive member of society. To Leroy, this means mixing elegant, maternal clothing, with the young girls punk…
VALENTIN YUDASHKIN - PARIS F/W 2012 FASHION SHOW Valentin Yudashkin, mixed velvet, leather, and lace in blacks, beiges, and gold, to create structured body-conscious silhouettes. Tailored pieces emphasized the body with hourglass shaped pleating and graphic prints, while skirts flared away from the body adding a girly playfulness. The collection was simple and clean cut…
ZANDRA RHODES - PARIS F/W 2012 INTERVIEW BY INDIRA CESARINE Zandra Rhodes presented a retrospective of her career as part of the On|Off shows in Paris. This is the first time she’s shown at fashion week since 2007 when she launched her MAC make up line in London, and the first time she’s shown her designs…
This past week, the winners of Le Festival International de Mode et de Photographie à Hyères were announced. In fashion, Siiri Raasakka, Tiia Siren & Elina Laitenen, menswear designers from Finland, were awarded the L'Oreal Professionel prize which includes a 15,000 euro grant. Estonian Ragne Kikas's collection "Dress Code Defensive" won the Première Vision award, which…
On April 12, the Palais de Tokyo reopened its doors after undergoing a ten-month long renovation. To celebrate the completion of its construction, Paris’s most influential contemporary arts center stayed open for twenty-eight hours for a non-stop event that included performances, live music, videos, lectures, and art installations. Artists, including Christian Marclay, Peter…
