Once again, the Institut Français de la Mode (IFM) has made waves. On Monday, the Paris-based institution kicked off the local fashion week with a showcase of the collections of its Master of Arts students in Fashion Design and Knitwear Design.
Held at the IFM campus, the event presented 158 looks by 27 students from 13 nationalities. Among the attendees there were also France's First Lady, Brigitte Macron, the newly appointed Minister of Culture Rachida Dati, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton executive Sidney Toledano, and Alaïa CEO Miriam Serrano.
Two key elements defined the collections - extensive research and collaboration. Each collection, consisting of 5 to 7 looks, marked the culmination of an intensive program that began in September 2022 and, throughout the program, students engaged in thorough research and collaborated with renowned textile producers and yarn specialists.
The event opened with Quinhan Liu's oversized jumper adorned with what appeared to be real fallen leaves, even though they were crafted from leather offcuts meticulously singed and stitched by hand.
Liu's collection also featured suits printed with tree rings and a coat with ample shoulders and a coiled belt that showcased the designer's versatility.
Inspired by stones collected along the northern German coastline, Kira Zander presented designs characterized by holey surfaces and cocooning shapes. These creations were crafted using yarns provided by Biella-based Di.Vè.
Collaboration with manufacturers was a pivotal aspect of the IFM experience. Knitwear designers like Keyin Wang, for example, partnered with Italian yarn companies and mills, such as Filati Biagioli Modesto, to create ethereal silhouettes and almost impalpable textiles inspired by personal childhood memories of loneliness and isolation, experienced while her mother and grandmother, who ran a factory in China, were too busy making garments to take care of her.
Esther Vervliet collaborated with Manifattura Igea to produce a vibrant collection, including a puffy yarn jacket paired with a circular knitted skirt.
Her designs were influenced by the Body Maps, artworks by The Bambanani Women's Group in Cape Town, South Africa, which visually represented their emotions, experiences, wounds and marks left by the HIV virus attacking their bodies.
Antonio Romano employed Filpucci yarns to expand "The Body as Armor" theme that he developed last year when he came up with designs incorporating intriguing embossed motifs reminiscent of Sicilian pupi armors.
Departing from his previous Alaïa-inspired designs, Romano introduced shortened body-hugging dresses and pleated mini-skirts, offering a fresh perspective on his original inspiration.
At times the main theme for a collection revealed deeper inspirations: the urban cowboys of Italian Enrico De Marchi, adorned with safety vests and "saddle bags" (literally...), were actually inspired by the "transumanza" (transhumance) traditional practice of moving animals, typically sheep or cattle, from one grazing ground to another in different seasons to optimize their feeding and ensure their well-being.
Vincent Sung Park's Siamese twin looks featured a single jacket extending across both bodies, yet the collection wasn't about twins, but was actually inspired by the collective empathy experienced by the designer at his grandfather's funeral, a feeling also tackled by his "HugCamo" motif, a camouflage motif with hugging figures, symbolizing the power of human relationships.
Sofia Saerens's knitwear that blended mohair with viscose lace, creating fragile burnout effects, and combining masculine wear with feminine lingerie, also hid a complex inspiration - "Nitrate Kisses", a 1992 documentary by Barbara Hammer about four gay and lesbian couples.
Several graduates showcased innovative approaches by incorporating found pieces into their creations. French creative Alice Le Ster, from IFM's knitwear program, used vintage jewelry from flea markets as the focal point of her designs.
Integrating these pieces into her knitwear, Le Ster allowed them to dictate the direction of her creations, seamlessly weaving them into leather as well. Soon to embark on an internship at Alaïa, her work exemplifies a fusion of textures and materials.
Seo Yeon Kim took a bold approach by repurposing duvet pieces into dresses, symbolizing liberation through clothing and art. Inspired by 1900s mental hospitals and armed with a background in sociology, Kim's collection explored the tension between creativity and conformity, shedding light on societal norms through garment construction.
Material exploration became an obsession for some graduates, leading to unconventional solutions. Marion Pellé drew inspiration from her childhood experience with an orthopedic corset, incorporating in her hand-molded knits metallic support elements and transparent resin bodices, created in collaboration with an orthopedic laboratory, Lagarrigue Orthopedie.
Min Wang found inspiration in a bus journey, and transformed bus seat fabric into a denim jacket and skirt, while capturing the imagery of roadside posters pierced by light in a top and skirt ensemble. Technology allowed the designer to 3D print and then screenprint a dress included in the collection.
Filippa Geslin celebrated craft as meditation, creating works of art from humble materials like calico, discarded garments and human hair.
Her collection was a collective effort and also included a top made with loom-woven human hair by Antonin Mongin and trousers sprouting hair (currently a trend, as we have seen in a previous post a month ago).
Hair also appeared in Jude Macasinag's collection in which the designer analysed what it means to be queer in the Philippines.
This ode to queer identity entitled "Haute Queer-ture" was a triumph of research and techniques that combined traditional elements such as the Barong, the national men's garment in the Philippines, Manila club culture and drag scene.
Gowns were embellished with materials like beer bottles cleaned and crushed to create a floral embroidery (with the help of Italian company Rilievi); besides, two textiles developed with Filipino artisans working with pineapple fibers integrated hand-embroidery and hand-loomed jacquard with human hair.
Macasinag also came up with a reinvented denim textile: coated in several layers of various materials, including paper, paint, glitter, foil and plastic, the textile was reconfigured and transformed. In Macasinag's collection, queer transgression was therefore reinterpreted as a textile research for gowns with ironic names such as "Marie Cuntoinette" and "Miss Understood".
The IFM show underscored valuable lessons for fashion design students and lecturers alike: first of all, it highlighted the importance of in-depth research and hard work, while celebrating uniqueness, and fostering collaboration. IFM doesn't indeed only showcase students' work on social media platforms, but tends to post images of their background research and their process as they work on a collection, including names of the companies providing materials or helping achieving the desired effects they want in their collections through innovative techniques. In this way, the institute promotes their portfolios, but also shows aspiring designers the hard work that goes into a collection and makes sure that all the parts involved get their credit.
This is an approach that yields rewarding results: the standout collection from last year's show, Ju Bao's "Annihilation," featuring Bao's inventive laddered knitwear technique crafted with Sato Seni yarns, earned the designer an internship at Dior and the opportunity to design a piece for the fashion house's Haute Couture S/S 24 collection (View this photo).
Last but not least, the lecturers at IFM seem interested in celebrating the uniqueness of the students, promoting a supportive environment conducive to creativity and success, so that they can flourish and find themselves and their path. This is not given for granted as, in other institutions, lecturers often play at being God, forgetting they are there just to unlock the students' energy, passion and madness (yes, madness as well, why not) and make sure that they can find the techniques, skills and materials to tell their stories and write the next chapter in the history of fashion.
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