Color Therapy
In a first for Berluti, artistic director Kris Van Assche has collaborated with American sculptor Brian Rochefort on his spring 2021 collection. “What I wanted with this collection is that it would almost be a kind of a slap in the face of joy, color, something light, something cheerful,” he said.
Berluti
Kris Van Assche is not the improvising type, so when the Berluti offices went into lockdown in March, he took a while to find his bearings.
But after getting an office set up at home, the designer known for his precise and methodical approach found inspiration in something decidedly more instinctive and unpredictable: the flamboyant creations of U.S. sculptor Brian Rochefort.
Van Assche is a ceramics collector himself, starting off with the classic Fifties French Modernist styles that sit well alongside his Pierre Jeanneret furniture. But he also has one of Rochefort’s oversize vessels, which drip and bulge with color and texture.
In a first for Berluti, Van Assche has collaborated with Rochefort on his spring 2021 collection, translating the patterns of the sculptures into vibrantly patterned silk shirts, densely textured knits and flecked patina motifs on the brand’s signature shoes.
“He himself describes himself as a slap-in-the-face kind of a ceramics artist, which I think is very funny, and which I think is also quite appropriate for these times because in the end, what I wanted with this collection is that it would almost be a kind of a slap in the face of joy, color, something light, something cheerful,” he said in a preview with WWD.
The two men discuss working together in a video released by Berluti on Thursday that provides a fascinating look at Rochefort’s process.
“I didn’t feel like trying to do a fake fashion show because I don’t believe in a similar emotion through a video screen. So I said, I might as well do the total opposite and take the time to explain, to actually even introduce people to the artist, the inspiration, the working process, all the things that I never really get the chance to show on a runway,” Van Assche explained.
Rochefort hopes his work will spread cheer. “People are inundated with all sorts of crazy information from social media and sometimes it’s best to, like, tune out a little bit and enjoy the celebration of color and excitement in artworks rather than the depressing concept behind some contemporary art,” he said in the film.
“Color’s always been my thing,” the sculptor said, explaining the complexities of glazing and how challenging it is to photograph his creations, which are often described as volcanic. “Even though my work does command a lot of attention in real life, it will be interesting to see how that translates,” he noted.
Van Assche said the process was comparable to the layering of the patina that produces the deep shades in Berluti’s shoes and leather goods.
He noted that the luxury house’s knowhow, condensed in its state-of-the-art “manifattura” in Ferrara, Italy, is often lost in the blur of an eight-minute runway show. “So I think this is a good occasion for that, because now it starts with the explanation and the pictures come after,” he said.
The lookbook for the collection will be released in December, just before it lands in stores in January. There will be several drops, and Berluti also plans to unveil a new collection of essentials in late February or early March. After two years at the house, which is owned by luxury conglomerate LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, Van Assche feels confident in the style he has established and thought the time was right to open up the brand to an outside creative talent.
“There is very little archive at Berluti – the archive is basically the shoes – so it’s important now for me to bring in other influences,” he said. “Usually people collaborate to break open the brand to a bigger audience. I kind of like, at Berluti, that we would introduce our public to a more niche, underground idea of collaboration.”
While he’s keen to return to the runway soon, working under the limitations of the coronavirus pandemic has allowed Van Assche to further tighten his focus.
“This is definitely a new reality, for sure, with quite a lot of downsides, because I will miss the fashion week. But there is also something quite challenging in adapting and trying to make the best of it,” he said. “And I’m really happy about what this looks like, so the editing is also quite interesting in the creative process.”
Walter van Beirendonck
“The last months became very surreal,” said Walter van Beirendonck, explaining he very quickly knew it would be impossible to realize the spring collection in a typical fashion. “The fabrics were not available, I could not work with my normal producers, and like that I started to think about an alternative.”
Like Maria Grazia Chiuri at Dior, van Beirendonck’s mind went to the Théâtre de la Mode, a traveling exhibit after the Second World War featuring small mannequins wearing designer creations.
“At the time there was also a lack of material, and the Paris designers couldn’t work with normal mannequins,” Van Beirendonck said. “So I took that idea as the starting point. We made the complete collection in miniature.”
Petites mains in Antwerp crafted the tiny garments. In his fashion video, those are presented on dolls created by former student Eli Effenberge in Tokyo. Van Beirendonck designed their makeup looks, as he does for models on the runway, and set the presentation to Perfume Genius tracks.
Van Beirendonck dubbed the collection “Mirror,” which brought to mind mirrors used in shaman rituals. “It’s also kind of an entrance to a new world,” he said. “I had a feeling that would fit very well in the atmosphere of today.”
It did. There were 22 looks, with some featuring removable mirrors. Mirrors gave that parka a stiff aspect.
Van Beirendonck conceived “ghost prints” appearing on pieces like a mesh shirt. “With all the skin discussions going on, I wanted to work with blue and pink — very surreal body colors,” he explained.
The designer used polyester from Japan for suits, giving a crisp, sharp silhouette. Conversely, voluminous outerwear was made of fringed nylon resembling fur.
The collection was abbreviated, yet complete, and allowed for Van Beirendonck’s deft hand to shine through. — Jennifer Weil
Études
Études already had the theme chosen for its spring collection before the pandemic shut everything down: “Yes, Future.” They had also begun working, so what could they do other than continue moving forward?
“Basically we didn’t stop, we just kept the flow going and tried to catch up with everything,” said Aurélien Arbet, speaking with the other designers Jérémie Egry and José Lamali on a Zoom call.
American landscape art was the starting point, and the trio thought about what it means to create art in nature. “We took it from there — it helped us pick up colors, fabrics, shapes,” Lamali said.
Their presentation film sends viewers on a contemplative stroll in the 20th arrondissement of Paris, focusing on one model at a time, filing past graffiti and vegetation that sprouted up in the sidewalks during lockdown.
The designers blended American workwear codes with French tailoring, yielding a street- savvy lineup infused with personal, original details. For example, using a Liberty fabric inside out gave a faded look, bleaching further altered the pattern. They layered a boxy, short- sleeve shirt with a long- sleeve UV-protective layer underneath: The sun has grown hotter, even in Paris, they observed last summer. Transformable clothing continues to hold sway, and the trio offered coats in a recycled nylon material with sleeves that could be partially removed.
While fabrics were raw and recycled, and the silhouettes relaxed, the collection felt crisp — that would be their French design sensibility, no doubt.
They collaborated with American photographer Roe Ethridge, decorating shirts with his contemporary, still-life imagery. Ethridge also produced the look book from New York, which was shot in a Paris studio. — Mimosa Spencer
Wooyoungmi
Pina Bausch, as seen in Wim Wenders’ documentary on the late German choreographer, inspired Wooyoungmi’s collection.
“Four or five years ago when I was in Paris I had a really depressing time, and I got to see the documentary and fell in love with her,” explained creative director Woo Young Mi, who added she was fascinated by Bausch’s movements, androgyny and insights into life and people.
Woo has stepped back into the designer role after her daughter Katie Chung, who served as creative director since 2014, left Wooyoungmi’s parent company, Solid Co. Ltd., in March. Woo maintains her chief executive officer position as well.
Last season, Wooyoungmi introduced women’s wear on its men’s wear catwalk, and Woo continued with a co-ed collection for spring.
“What I am envisioning is the wardrobe that is shared by a couple,” she said. “I am making clothing for contemporary young men and women. I wanted to introduce and pursue essential beauty in this collection, rather than trying something new.”
For the streamlined looks, Woo avoided layering garments much and kept to hues such as magenta (a nod to Bausch’s dance “Carnations”), lavender, pale blue, mint and lilac — “romantic colors,” she said. “I also did some tailoring of the silhouette to make it simpler.”
There was a generous trench, men’s shirting in pre-wrinkled cotton, traditional “power suits” subtly tweaked for men and women, and a padded- out polyester pilot jacket.
When the pandemic struck, questions arose about how to present the collection. Woo thought: “If Pina were alive, what would she do?”
Dance. So to pay homage, models wearing Wooyoungmi were filmed moving in a manner reminiscent of Bausch’s troupe. Here, fashion and fantasy wove together to wonderful effect, making the virtual seem real — and very much of the moment. — J.W.
Boramy Viguier
Boramy Viguier loves to inject a spiritual message into his designs in a way that defies interpretation. Inspired by the 24-hour news culture accentuated by the pandemic, he put his unsettling spin on the buttoned-up television presenter aesthetic, displacing familiar tailoring references into a strange world that floated somewhere between sporty and macabre, utilitarian and Space Age.
Outsized suit jackets with no sleeves and blanket-stitch edging rubbed shoulders with dark floral prints, sporty iridescent capes and leather coats that added a sinister utilitarian touch. Lace face coverings and beanie hats accentuated the off-kilter feel. In his video presentation, Viguier spliced military and esoteric symbolism together, spinning cards — tarot is one of his recurrent references — breaking down the individual elements of each look in a clever touch.
Given the lockdown, the entire collection was made from leftover fabrics and items from around the studio, forcing the designer to make do with what he had to hand.
“I couldn’t source anything, I had to make do with fabric waste and stock and what I could find at home,” Viguier said over the phone.
With production halted and day-today business considerations on standby, all there was to do was create, said the designer, who lives upstairs from his studio. “That situation was really inspiring. It’s a great genesis for creation.” — Alex Wynne
EgonLab
Florentin Glémarec and Kévin Nompeix set their designs in a post-pandemic, dystopian universe: The models in their online film strode through digitally generated backdrops; one with blobs of volcanic rock; another with smashed cars and rubble.
The genderless label worked from a tailored base to offer deconstructed silhouettes of fitted shorts paired with items like suit jackets and patchwork shirts in a palette of largely black, white and red. Pieces created with sportswear label Sergio Tacchini — the young brand’s first collaboration — gave a streetwear influence to certain looks. In parallel, knee-high lace-up boots, strapping details and loose strips of fabric heightened the tough-minded, utilitarian mood of their imaginary world. — A.W.
Louis
Gabriel Nouchi
Camus has seen a powerful resurgence in popularity lately — his message about the randomness of suffering resonated especially well during the pandemic lockdown. But here, his influence spilled over into fashion. Seizing on “The Stranger” — that great monument in French literature — Louis Gabriel Nouchi drew on both the story and the author’s own vestimentary preferences for his spring collection.
The designer drew up a sensual lineup of loose silhouettes — tailoring and knits — updating classics by stretching them out. The trench — a Camus favorite — was roomy, the tips of the lapel extended to the shoulders. Knits, a brand signature, had snug fits, with the occasional detached lining — another LGN trademark, and carried inspiration from military undergarments, the weave meant to protect soldiers from mosquitoes. Focusing on French materials, there was a profusion of linen, a good heat regulator that also consumes less water than cotton, Nouchi said.
Nouchi also offered military jackets and pinstripes — other Camus favorites — working them in silky materials, reconfiguring them for contemporary times.
The clothing was shown in a film produced by Keffer, worn by actors from the Comédie Française, who read passages from the book — Nouchi had developed a habit of posting lines from literature on Instagram during the lockdown period.
The book provided the color palette — black as the character mourns the death of his mother, blue for the sea and orange for the murder on the beach.
The latter was bright, meant to evoke the sun, and worked into flat trousers and cleanly cut suit jackets.
“Heat is a decisive factor in the book,” as Nouchi noted.
A collaboration with artist Edouard Taufenbach turned up prints made from collages of photos of Algiers, which were applied to collared shirts and shorts, patched onto another fabric, for a ripped paper effect.
In other news, the brand is opening its first store on Rue Oberkampf in Paris in September. — Mimosa Spencer
Blue Marble
Anthony Alvarez drew on his dual roots to offer a collection inspired by summer escapes — between the energy of New York and New Jersey, and the indolence of the French Riviera.
He transposed psychedelic motifs — tie-dye patterns, paisley prints — on his resolutely sporty silhouettes, associating Neoprene with natural, supple materials like linen, silk and cotton in a color palette evocative of a vivid sunset.
The boxy lines, when contrasted with the hippie-chic motifs and hues, made for an appealing, feel-good proposition that oozed a youthful balance of insouciance and self-confidence.
His video, simple yet powerful, was a play on contrasts. The models fluctuated between casual nonchalance and formal runway walks, moving through a range of landscapes: a cornfield, a woodland walk, suburban train tracks and the streets of Paris. Finally, they set out on a boat trip and into the freedom of summer. —