In yesterday's post we looked at an installation during Pitti Filati characterised by multi-coloured panels of fabrics forming a textile kaleidoscope. But multi-coloured pieces also appeared on the Parisian runways during Haute Couture Week (that closed yesterday in the French capital).
Things actually began in the dark on Givenchy's runway, held at the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris. The opening look, a tailored black jacket with white lapels matched with black latex leggings was followed indeed by several black and white dresses and designs (splashes of yellow were added in between) for both men and women.
The main idea for Creative Director Clare Waight Keller was indeed starting from a blank page (the collection was entitled "Bleached Canvas"), yet there were two moments in which rainbow colours materialised in the form of two designs made with hand-made organza tubes.
The idea behind them wasn't definitely new, but the technique and the construction in one of them was remarkable, especially as the design in question featured tiny coloured beads around the waist that seemed to melt into threads cascading onto the organza tubes. It was as if the technique was used in this design to create the structure and the shape of the bodice and of the beaded band around the waist.
The colour and technique in these two creations broke with the austere rhythm of the other designs, emphasising the artisanal aspects of the collection and giving it a playful tone. The monochrome vs multichrome dichotomy in the collection also seemed to hint at a further contrast between two French Haute Couture concepts and principles - tailleur and flou.
These colourful looks contrasted with the darker pieces that seemed inspired by horror films and stories, among them also a floor-length blood red dress covered in red sequins matched with a latex cape (inspired by a cardinal's cassock?), and a black gown on which red Swarovski crystals perfectly recreated drops of blood in a disturbingly sublime way ("Suspiria" anybody?).
Latex - considered by Waight Keller as "couture leather" and not as a material for fetish wear - represented the hard edge of the collection via leggings, bodysuits and a single sleeve, designed by specialist brand Atsuko Kudo.
Accessories included white or black backpacks attached to monumental butterfly wing-like bows and matched with a white Swiss guipure dress, or a white shirt and black trousers, for that Odette/Odile or Angel/Demon dichotomy.
Think the giant bow bags may be too much for you, but you still like the fringed designs and would like to replicate the look in an extravagant way? Try experimenting with spoke skins and covers for enduro bike wheels: yes, they may not be so Haute Couture, but most of us can't afford high fashion. Besides, once you're tired of the look or the accessory you make with the skins, you can still recycle them for other projects or more simply put them back on your bike.
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