If you love black, you probably also like the work of Pierre Soulages. There is at the moment an interesting retrospective at the Paris-based Centre Pompidou about the French painter, engraver and sculptor famous for celebrating in his works the black colour and studying the effects it gives out when light reflects upon it or when the colour is applied to different textures to create in this way interesting contrasts.
Darkness turns into brightness in Soulages’ monochromatic paintings in which the artist developed his outré-noir concept.
The latter was actually the first thing that came to my mind after seeing a few collections for the Autumn/Winter 2010 season that prevalently focused on the black colour.
The first collection is the one designed by Canadian Rad Hourani.
Having launched his label only three years ago, Hourani’s story is a successful one and in New York he presented a convincing – both from the design and the retail point of view – black collection.
His silhouettes are still not well-balanced since matching skinny trousers, cycling shorts or leggings with rectangular jackets didn’t always work, but Hourani is on his way to develop a precise and controlled aesthetic through asymmetrically symmetrical motifs criss-crossed by zips.
Layering jackets and tops one on top of the other and zipping/unzipping them to create further layered origami-like effects was a clever trick as it didn’t allow you to discover where a garment began and the other ended, while, incorporating in the same jacket leather and wool panels or adding glamorous notes thanks to rows of sequins, gave the wearer a sort of tactile experience à la Soulages.
Hourani clearly derives some of his gothic-noir inspirations from Rick Owens and at times there was a lack of variation, yet he seems to have enough talent to get free from his influences and find his own way.
In London Hannah Marshall opted for a black and midnight blue palette for her designs in stretch velvet and leather that at times called to mind the 80s.
There were interesting references to strong and powerful icons such as Grace Jones in the second skin body suits with cut outs and slashes and sculpted shoulders and in some cases Marshall took further the idea of conceptual armours seen in her previous collections, designing mini-dresses encased in a sort of orbiting structure made of concentric circles (you can obviously already imagine Lady Gaga in it…).
Yet, though there were one or two interesting inspirations, Marshall will have to strengthen her tailoring skills which at the moment are still rather weak.
There was definitely more variation at Jean-Pierre Braganza's catwalk show where black was alternated with maroon and with graphic blue, orange, black and white prints that evoked Alexander McQueen’s while metallic studs and beads, feathers and leather inserts were used as decorations.
Yet the best thing about Braganza’s slightly sculptural collection that referenced sci-fi and the new architectural language of Walter Gropius, was the fact that it featured designs aimed at a younger and hip audience and garments with a relaxed and softer silhouette that may appeal to more mature women.
Everything started with black at threeASFOUR with a collection inspired by alchemy, since this colour evoked the consistency of lead, iron and tin.
The palette moved then onto mercury, silver, copper and gold. Bronze braided structures enveloped the body, radically altering it while body stockings and leggings provided a clean silhouette when worn over coats, dresses and tunics characterised by coiling motifs that called to mind the consistency of molten metals.
The atmosphere was almost militaristic as the dresses were shown by models landing on the runway en masse as if they were aliens invading the earth.
As a collection it was maybe a bit too avant-garde, but it will surely provide and an interesting alternative to the next season's darker designs.
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