Images from a recent trip to Rome and artists John Currin and Richard Artschwager were on Christian Juul Nielsen's mood board for his fall Aknvas lineup. “My whole trip to Rome was really important for this collection because I think in many ways, Rome is very much what fashion is,” Juul Nielsen said backstage before his show. “It's about the past and the future and how we mix.” Add the location, The Ritz Carton NoMad, as another point of contact, keeping things “real.” Juul Nielsen may be Danish with a background in European couture, but he is also very much a New Yorker.
She opened with the category that helped establish her brand's place in the cutting-edge contemporary landscape: intriguing knitwear. Colorful, tactile knit dresses with pom-pom details (a nod to Artschwager's exclamation point art) set the mood. She quickly moved on to minimalist tailoring and faux fur as her next ideas, with oversized baggy suits in dark caramel and a belted faux fur coat with tapered shoulders, as well as faux fur separates. “I looked for ancient furs,” she said, translating it into modern, animal-friendly versions. Another garment in which the brand is growing: denim, here with the handmade flower applications that he has made in recent seasons, with a vintage look with high doses of fantasy.
The volume was increased at the end with a mix of transparent sequined dresses that shine and seduce, exposing underwear: a call to the sculptures of Italy and at the same time arguing that Aknvas is more than just excellent fabrics and has room for grow.
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