While photographing his summer collection in Zanzibar, Christian Wijnants fell in love with its capital, Stone Town. “The city really inspired me: the colors, the atmosphere. You have a lot of African influences, of course, but it was also a step to India and many other places,” said the Belgian designer. That became the inspiration for his pre-fall collection and also seeped into this fall offering.
For this, Wijnants collaborated with Magali Cazo, whose ethereal and colorful abstract art was printed on organza made into flowing dresses and integrated into intarsia sweaters.
“This season it was also very important to combine day and evening wear,” explained Wijnants. The result was a sophisticated line, with pieces mainly in earth tones that can be combined and layered without problems.
A gray knit sweater with a long collar under a chocolate alpaca coat had a '70s feel. There was versatility in the black nylon bomber jacket with a cinched waist paired with a long black paillette skirt.
Knitwear was made from natural fibers, such as charmeuse silk, linen, and suri alpaca yarns, and integrated draping. A faux fur coat was made from silk, while Wijnants gave some materials, such as denim, a washed effect.
She made garments with textured fabrics, such as linen and quilted viscose blend. An olive green top with spaghetti straps in cut silk squares had a matching green skirt, giving an almost reptilian impression, one of many nods to Wijnant's affinity with nature.
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