Puppets, marionettes and dolls have strong connections with fashion. Historians will tell you for example that in 1700s, fashion from France was exported to Venice via "la poupee de France", known in Venice as "la piavola de Franza", a doll officially dressed in the latest Parisian creations.
In March 1945, the Théâtre de la Mode event was showcased at the Louvre Museum. Organised by the Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne and Entraide Française, this event was aimed at raising funds for charity, while showcasing the work of Parisian couturiers on wire mannequins posed on sets designed by famous artists.
The idea came from an old practice: sending dolls dressed in miniature versions of outfits to faraway buyers while saving money since organising a proper fashion show was too expensive.
An event similar to the Théâtre de la Mode took place in 1963 in Paris, organised this time by Gisèle d’Assailly, a descendant of Lafayette, and a journalist, who asked the most famous Parisian couturiers, jewellery designers, fur makers and hairdressers to come up with unique creations for a series of dolls later to be auctioned for charity.
In more recent years we have seen fashionable puppets and dolls becoming the protagonists of fashion events, such as "The House of Viktor & Rolf" exhibition, or more recently being employed by Academy of Art University student Maria Romero for her graduate collection. Yet marionettes disappeared from proper fashion runways for quite a while, at least until last week when Brazilian designer Fause Haten decided to bring them back.
One of Brazil's most internationally renowned fashion designers (but also a singer and costume designer), famous for working with unusual mixes of materials including plastic, lace, leather, mohair, and denim and for adopting a style infused with architectural references, Fause Haten is at the top of his game in his country when it comes to fashion presentations.
During Sao Paulo Fashion Week he introduced his Summer 2014 collection with a marionette catwalk: his glamorous 30 inches high puppets wore miniature versions of his designs, that were actually more haute couture than ready-to-wear. Bright summerish colours prevailed, and in some cases the dresses were covered with appliqued floral motifs or satin ribbons.
Each doll represented a glamorous model (Gisele Bündchen, Thana Kuhnen, Paola Ludtke, Stella Tennant, Aline Weber, Alicia Kuczman, Shalom Harlow, Kate Moss, Carol Trentini, Raquel Zimmermann, Kristen McMenamy, Karen Elson, Alek Wek, Natalia Vodianova, Amber Valletta, Linda Evangelista, Mariacarla Boscono, Naomi Campbell and actress Julianne Moore) and, at the end of the catwalk (very aptly closed by a marionette of Fause Haten himself), each puppet posed next to the real size dresses. The unique catwalk show received coverage by the media a bit all over the world and proved very emotional with the people who attended it.
Robert Ricci’s (son of Nina and head of the Chambre Syndicale) originally launched the Théâtre de la Mode event to inject new life into the moribund French fashion industry; Haten's act of dressing up puppets in his glamorous gowns suggested designers that it's maybe time to shake fashion a bit and bring back into catwalk shows the dreamy magic of childhood dreams or of grand marionette shows à la Carlo Colla.
Was your show somehow inspired by the 1945 exhibit Théâtre de la Mode?
Fause Haten: Not exactly, but I know about that exibition as I have this wonderful book that features it. My idea came from my desire to try new ways of showing a fashion collection. After doing shows for more than 20 years, you feel that the time has come to change this formula. When the fashion shows first started they were about women going to an atelier to choose dresses. Today it's not just about that and this is why at my atelier we always try to think about new ways to present the designs.
Can you remind us of another unusual fashion presentation you did in the past?
Fause Haten: For the S/S 2011-2012 I did a show where all the models wore a mask over their eyes as if they were sleeping and we had a completly different way to walk, and a dreamy and emotional atmosphere immersed in silence. I used to work with stylists, show directors, lighting and soundtrack designers on my shows, but I created my latest show all by myself, working day by day, finding new ways to direct it, working on the soundtrack and designing the lights as well.
Who made the puppets, an artisan?
Fause Haten: Yes, it was a combination of two disciplines, puppetry and sculpture and of two artists, Guilherme Pires and Virgilio Zago, specialised in marionettes and animation.
Can you introduce us the new collection - what inspired it and what's the main theme behind it?
Fause Haten: The collection is entitled "O Maravilhoso Mundo do Dr. F" - The Wonderful World of Dr. F. But I'm leaving it at that as I want everyone to see in it a different theme or inspiration. My collection now belongs to the audience who will have to decode it.
In a way, in our world going through constant financial crises it seemed a very clever solution to have puppets rather than models at your show. Could your presentation be considered also as a commentary about the costs of fashion?
Fause Haten: SPFW had a calendar change last year and because of that we did 3 shows in 2012. We spent a lot of money on these presentations and I didn't have too much to invest this season. But that was not the idea. For me the idea of the show was to have an innovative presentation for my collection. You see, in the past the designer used to be more present on the runway, but then, little by little designers disappeared for one reason or the other in favour of the brand - think about houses such as Yves Saint Laurent, Valentino, and then more recently Jil Sander, McQueen, Galliano or Tom Ford. The time has finally come to rethink catwalk show presentations.
What kind of feedback did you get after this show?
Fause Haten: I did regular catwalk shows in New York in 2000 and 2001 and then in Milan in 2002 and 2003, but I never got the international coverage I got with this show. It was very special to get people coming to me after the presentation and see how many of them were emotional and some were even crying. I think that even in an industry that became very corporative like fashion, we still need emotion.
How do you reconcile your role as fashion designer with your other careers? And have you been working on any new cotumes recently?
Fause Haten: Fashion is part of my work as an artist. I'm also an actor, singer and costume designer for the theatre. I just did the costumes for shows and musicals in Brazil including The Wizard of Oz and Hello, Dolly! and I'm now working on Romeo and Juliet and The Drowsy Chaperone.
The 1945 Théâtre de la Mode travelled all over the world, would you like to see your puppets embarking on a very fashionable journey as well?
Fause Haten: Yes, I'd love to. I would like to contact fashion museums and send them further information about this collection. It would be great to see the puppets travelling all around the world!
All images and videos courtesy of Fause Haten
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