Fashion was one of the protagonists of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games opening ceremony: as LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton was premium partner of the games, one of its brands, Dior dressed Celine Dion, Lady Gaga and Aya Nakamura. Yet in the various segments of the ceremony there were also creations by independent Paris-based designers such as Jeanne Friot, Charles de Vilmorin, Victor Weinsanto, Alphonse Maitrepierre and Kevin Germanier.
A graduate of Central Saint Martins in London, Swiss Germanier launched his eponymous brand in 2018 and held his first show in Paris in March 2022. Germanier has gained recognition for his innovative and sustainable designs, characterized by the upcycling of materials like feathers, beads, and sequins, an approach he began as a student when financial constraints led him to re-purpose old sheets and beads. His work often incorporates masks, reflecting his passion for sci-fi, manga, and video games, that fuel his distinct, alien-inspired aesthetic.
At the Paris 2024 opening ceremony, Germanier dressed Italian Paralympic fencer Beatrice "Bebe" Vio Grandis for a segment that reimagined a fashion runway as a ballroom event. This segment also featured several drag queens, including Nicky Doll, Piche, Kam, and Paloma.
Bebe Vio stood out in a mini-dress adorned with feathers that extended outward, creating a floating effect around her. Germanier integrated her prosthetic arms and legs into the outfit by covering them in crystals and rhinestones, making them a seamless part of the ensemble. Unfortunately, this striking moment was overshadowed by the controversy surrounding the opening ceremony. Far-right politicians and conservative Christians criticized a tableau they perceived as a parody of "The Last Supper" (hilarious how, in their fervor to attack the ceremony, Italian far-right politicians who love celebrating nationalism at every opportunity, missed the chance to do so when they did not spot Bebe Vio).
However, Kevin Germanier had a second opportunity to showcase his work during the Olympic Games ceremony on Sunday evening, which centered around a narrative that combined sci-fi elements with sports values.
Entitled "Records," the ceremony referenced Olympic sport records, but also the Golden Record - a time capsule sent into space by NASA's Voyager probe in 1977, designed to communicate the essence of life on Earth to extraterrestrial beings. This record, still floating in space, is design to serve as a manual for extraterrestrial visitors and it is filled with images, music, sounds and greetings. In the ceremony, it inspired the appearance of a unique visitor from the stars.
Directed by Thomas Jolly, the artistic director of the Paris Games, the ceremony celebrated the Olympic spirit, diversity, and solidarity. The central figure was a Golden Voyager, a space traveler who descended into the Stade de France and, with fellow explorers, uncovered remnants of the Olympic Games - symbolized by the five rings - lost in a distant future where the games had been forgotten.
This voyager was portrayed by French dancer Arthur Cadre, a specialist in breakdancing and contortionism, dressed in a costume designed by Germanier.
The design drew inspiration from the Golden Record (and obviously from gold medals...), but also from human anatomy, and the bodies of athletes. The costume featured indeed anatomical elements, such as a rib cage on the front and a spine on the back, evoking the structure of the human body. The character's antennae, reminiscent of Mugler's insect-inspired creations, added a futuristic touch.
One of the key references for the costume was Jean Baptiste Marc Bourgery's 1830 work "Atlas of Human Anatomy and Surgery," which has long served as an inspiration for fashion designers exploring the intersections of anatomy and design (first year fashion design students, please check it out if you've never heard it).
To ensure Cadre's ability to move freely, Germanier incorporated practical features like zippers along the sides of the costume, allowing for unrestricted dance movements.
Staying true to his eco-friendly ethos, Germanier adorned the voyager's outfit with over 20,000 upcycled gold beads and sequins, sourced from a supplier in Hong Kong. Some beads were oxidized, but they were used all the same to give the costume a weathered, slightly burnt appearance, suggesting the voyager's long journey through space and fall on Earth.
Germanier also designed costumes for the over 100 acrobats who unearthed the five rings during the ceremony. For these spacesuits speckled with silver glitter the designer employed textiles from LVMH's Nona Source (that's highly recommended not just for fabrics, but for high quality leather leftovers as well).
This project challenged Germanier to adapt his typically heavy, sculptural designs to ensure the acrobats could move freely and reshifted the priority on safety, given that they all had to wear harnesses (on his Instagram page Germanier shows a close up of the costume for the acrobats and reveals how the harness was covered in the same fabric of the costume so that it wouldn't break the linearity of the design).
The Voyager's quest ended with an encounter with the goddess Nike and a sequence with Gabriel Fauré's "Hymne à Apollon" performed by Alain Roche, who was suspended in the air and wore another of creation by Germanier, this time made from recycled VHS tape reels.
As the piano was lifted, it looked like a rocket leaving Earth to go back to space, but the the VHS tapes trailing from the design also created a comet-like effect, adding a poetic and moving dimension to the performance.
For this particular project, Germanier didn't have to search far for materials, he simply returned home to Switzerland and retrieved almost 200 VHS tapes from his mother's basement, including some of his favorite films, such as Pokémon cartoons (a note of caution for fashion students: if you decide to work with this material or with strips of 8mm or 16mm films, it's important to keep them away from open flames and avoid lighting cigarettes while working with them - it sounds obvious, but stress and lack of sleep can make you forget basic rules).
Germanier demonstrated that beauty and extravagance can emerge from materials otherwise destined for the landfill, bringing with them symbolic meanings that enrich the design. In this instance, Germanier remarked that his creations stitched together the past, present, and future.
Credit is also due to Daphné Bürki, the styling and costume director of the Olympic Games ceremonies and a fan of Germanier, who introduced the young designer to Thomas Jolly.
What's next for Germanier? Hopefully, more costume design opportunities. Cinema remains a dream for him, but he could start with theater, opera, or ballet.
Adapting his intricate beadwork for these art forms might require some adjustments to ensure dancers have the necessary freedom of movement, but you can bet that his unique style and passion for telling fashion stories has the potential to win over a new generation and bring fresh energy to these traditional forms of art.
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