A few weeks ago I did a post on one designer who has been for a while on my list of people I’d like to interview, Iris van Herpen. As I already told you, the list of designers I'd like to interview is rather long. This post is going to be dedicated to another very special designer who is on my list, Carmen Secareanu. 
Though I love clashes of colours, black is my absolute favourite. It’s stylish, it’s always fashionable and it makes me feel more powerful than any other colour. This is mainly why I like Carmen Secareanu: the up-and-coming Romanian designer has created in the last few years very interesting black (but also white, though I prefer the black ones) dresses.
Her collections always feature apparently simple creations characterised by a deconstructed aesthetic, the sort of stuff that a powerful woman, with the elegance of Audrey Hepburn, the mysteriousness of a post-modernist Medea and an obsession for great tailoring, would wear. 
Some of Secareanu’s creations echo Yohji Yamamoto and Rei Kawakubo’s styles: I love the way this designer seems to sculpt, drape and pleat fabrics that at time turn into rigid armours in her hands, at others flow fluidly on the body. 
In some of her dresses the fabric is gathered into folds that remind of polonaise gowns, but while in the latter’s case silk cords and concealed drawstrings created the various folds, in Secareanu’s, draperies, pleats, gathers and asymmetrical effects seem to be created by magical and invisible threads. Her trademark is indeed a profusion of pleats and draperies that often create interesting effects distorting the body silhouette. 
A while back Secareanu also took part in an event to
fight against HIV/AIDS, the Condom-a-porter showcase at the Romanian
National Art Museum (RNAM) organised with the contribution of the
Population Service International (PSI), a nongovernmental organization
that carries out developed prevention and information programs. The
Romanian designer presented for the occasion her impeccably tailored
clothes all accessorised with condoms. 
Carefully applied to coats,
skirts, jackets and mini-dresses, the condoms formed striking adornments: it was as
if Secareanu created for the occasion futuristic clothes for cyborg-like women
infused with the aesthetic of the 19th century ragpicker.
I was very excited when, in May, Secareanu was invited to showcase her collection at the Pasarela Festival, together with three other Romanian designers, Lena Criveanu, Rozalb de Mura’s Olah Gyarfas and Maria Lucia Hohan. The festival aimed at promoting Romanian designers at an international level and gave them the opportunity to meet up with the French fashion industry. I was happy to see Secareanu winning the Pasarela award and I’m looking forward to seeing her new collection at the next Paris Fashion Week.
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