When knitwear and crochet designer Laura Theiss started working on her new collection one question lingered in her mind – how could she translate into her new creations a symbolic return to life in a post-pandemic world? Then she remembered a scene from Victor Fleming’s 1939 "The Wizard of Oz" in which Judy Garland opened the door and, from a sepia tinted Kansas, she found herself in Oz in its full Technicolor glory. And so Theiss realized she just needed to get inspired by the vibrantly vivid shades of iconic Technicolor films.
Moving from some of the key dance numbers in famous movies, she came up with a collection of exquisitely crocheted designs that celebrate her joie de vivre. Theiss employs in her new creations traditional techniques reinvented and adapted into modern shapes and silhouettes.
Sensual halter neck tops are paired with dynamic fitted trousers; multi-layered asymmetrical scalloped skirts evoke in their fan motifs stylized Art Deco patterns; feminine ruffled miniskirts are matched with cropped tops in Carmen Miranda's style, enriched with a three-dimensional delicate mille-feuille-like motif on the shoulders.
These summer essentials are ideal options for a city holiday, while Theiss' sensual dresses in metallic tones hint at confident women with a strong sense of style like Greta Garbo.
The main color palette – featuring zabaione yellow, bubblegum pink, fresh mint, arctic blue and crystalline turquoise – evokes the costumes from the dance sequences featuring Leslie Caron in Vincente Minnelli's "An American in Paris", while the kaleidoscope crocheted designs call to mind the kaleidoscopic overhead shots and elaborate choreographies in Busby Berkeley's extravaganzas.
This connection with musicals is also a reference to Theiss' affinity with dance and ballet and to her costumes for the Saarbrücken's Opera House and State Theatre.
Theiss's interest in sustainability, nature and women's empowerment is symbolically referenced in the bee motif, subtly crocheted in some of the designs included in this collection. Through this motif the designer reminds us that it is important to protect natural biodiversity and pays homage to her women artisans. Theiss' garments are indeed hand-knitted and crocheted by a team of women working from home in Lithuania, where Theiss was born and where she spent her childhood.
Theiss' S/S 22 collection, presented at the Peterson Automotive Museum in Los Angeles during the local fashion week, is a story combining the artfulness of Technicolor films with the most beautiful cinematic choreographies told through beautiful threads and stitches to highlight the key role of women artisans in the modern fashion industry.
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