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All tagged designer
I’ll never forget the first time I discovered the work of Mary Katrantzou. It was in London in 2008 I believe, and I just happened to wander into a room where a rack of her now-famous perfume bottle printed dresses was on display. On hand was her mother who was proudly showing off the stunning creations her daughter had dreamt up.
Romeo Hunte first registered on my radar in a way that I have never connected with a young designer before. He sent me a DM on Instagram during the global lockdown last year and suggested that the two of us jump on an Instagram Live to talk about the state of fashion in the throws of a global pandemic. And that is exactly what we ended up doing.
Sometimes it just feels like destiny when a designer lands at a fashion house. This is the case for British designer Louise Trotter, who took up the mantle of creative director at Lacoste at the tail end of 2018. Growing up she played a considerable amount of tennis and Lacoste was always her go-to label. Her husband is also a bit of a tennis nut and over the years has built up his own collection of Lacoste pieces that take up considerable room in his closet. But perhaps the most profound connection comes from the one that Louise feels with the founder of the company, René Lacoste.
I’ll never forget my first Christian Lacroix fashion show. Watching all of the supermodels walk his catwalk in outfits that mixed colors, patterns, and prints in combinations my mind could never have conceived would ever work together, let alone look as fabulously as they did on the Lacroix catwalk.
In this Instagram Live I speak with Edouard Vermeulen, the designer behind Natan Couture about the future of couture, how to make evergreen clothing, what it’s like to dress queens and princesses and how nature plays a big role in his creative process.
Famed haute couture designer @stephanerolland_paris discussed haute couture in the digital age, how he is adapting to the new normal while still maintaining the best aspects of couture’s heritage in his oeuvre.
For the digital haute couture @parisfashionweek put on by the @fhcm designer @rabih_kayrouz dives deep into the meaning behind the fashion film he created instead of a runway show to express the essence of his house.
Working from Beirut, Lebanon Rabih used video conferencing, creative thinking and a dedicated team in both Lebanon and Paris to bring to life a @maisonrabihkayrouz dress born out of ingenuity and heart. ❤️
For the digital haute couture @parisfashionweek put on by the @fhcm designer @alexismabille got creative. He used fabrics that he had in his couture atelier to construct a collection that beautifully underlined the feminine yet empowered codes of the house. In the 6 minute video Alexis took the time to show the details of each look so that the audience watching his film, titled Attitude, would better understand the incredible craftsmanship that went into each and every look.
For this week’s digital haute couture @parisfashionweek put on by the @fhcm designer @yuimanakazato came up with a unique and modern take on the idea of couture.
Here he reflects on what it was like to work hand in hand - or “Face to Face”, which is the title of his couture film, with 25 clients from around the world who got to have a one of a kind couture piece designed by Yuima. Each one of them crafted out of a classic white t-shirt that the clients had sent him in the mail.
The results are all unique sartorial interpretations that blend the stories of the clients with the vision of designer.
For this week’s digital haute couture @parisfashionweek put on by the @fhcm designer @rahulmishra_7 used the reaction of his artisans to his sketches to guide which direction his collection would go. Also they way in which nature bounced back and flourished, while the world was indoors during the confinement, gave Rahul hope and sparked his creative spirit.
For this week’s digital haute couture @parisfashionweek put on by the @fhcm designer Ronald van der Kemp showed a tour de force presentation of 8 back to back mini films that represent what haute couture means to him.
A sustainable couture designer, Ronald’s 28 look collection was filled with only upcycled creations that were as eccentrically individualistic as they were captivating.
For this week’s digital haute couture @parisfashionweek put on by the @fhcm the designer @imane_ayissi presented a collection called AMAL -Si, which means “the great misfortune that befalls the earth”. He focused his presentation on pieces he could craft from fabric offshoots he had from previous collections. The result is clothes - often constructed in a patchwork effect - that hint at a world parched from lack or water, the last falling petals of a fading flower or a gorgeous body concealing dress that moves like a endangered sea creature hunted for its beauty. The collection was poignant and transmitted its message in a meaningful manner.
For the digital haute couture @parisfashionweek put on by the @fhcm designer @juliedelibran presented a film that was a visual layering of all the many steps and all the creative people it takes to bring a couture collection to life. As Julie’s voice rings out the overlapping images cascade over each other to create a rich tapestry of moving images, still life photos and evocative music. The result is a mesmerizing kaleidoscope of couture.
Famous fashion journalist and critic Jessica Michault interviews Iris Van Herpen on her FW21 Haute Couture presentation and the challenges she had to face to develop it in pandemic times. Jessica and Iris have a fascinating exchange over Iris’s conceptual and experimental take on Couture, and her incorporation of cutting-edge technology to traditional craftsmanship.
When you meet Marine Serre for the first time, it is hard not to notice; or maybe a better word would be feel, the pent up energy in her diminutive frame. It is easy to understand why she spent years as a child playing tennis at almost a professional level before turning her drive towards design. You can practically see the wheels turning in her head as if she is doing a million things at once. And yet...and I don’t know exactly how... Marine also has a reserved shyness about her. It is a potent and powerful combination that honestly just makes you want to get to know her better.
Famous fashion journalist and critic Jessica Michault interviews Olivier Theyskens on his FW21 Haute Couture presentation and the challenges he had to face to develop it in pandemic times.
In the fashion world, there are a handful of times that you run across an up and coming designer that is so earnest, articulate, and talented that you make a secret wish in your heart that you hope they’ll make it big. That is exactly how I felt after talking with the 28-year-old designer Kevin Germanier for this podcast.
London Fashion Week and The British Fashion Council is embarking on its first-ever gender neutral fashion week that, starting June 12th, will merge womenswear and menswear into one venue and timeframe. That venue is a digital-only platform that was created to keep the country’s fashion week alive while still protecting the fashion loving community as it continues to deal with the social distancing directives designed to keep everyone safe during the current environment.
It says something about a brand that when you click on the about page on its website to get the backstory on the designer, a YouTube video of her boxing in the center ring at Madison Square Garden pops up. Showing her winning her title fight in front of a sold-out crowd. If nothing else the footage clearly illustrates that designer Nellie Partow knows how to roll with the punches and has no intention of ever being down for the count.
I have known JJ Martin for my entire professional career. And yet, until this podcast interview, I hadn’t realized just how much our lives were parallel. We are both California girls, we both left the United States to follow our hearts to Europe, and we both became top fashion journalists in international fashion capitals.
