On a day of debuts, we caught up with the BA graduation show at the IFM fashion college; the launch of the Japanese-made brand Vowels and the main show of Kartik Research.
IFM BA show: First of all Fashion, 'Ceasefire Now' t-shirts
Judging a student graduation show is a little like going to first of all, the annual pilgrimage of wine buyers and aficionados to purchase wine in Bordeaux.
You have to try a lot of alcohol to find the right bottles. Like Tuesday's graduate show at IFM, Paris's premier fashion school on the banks of the Seine. There were 31 young talents on display, each showing six looks, before sharing a joint finale, each designer wearing a white t-shirt that read “Ceasefire Now.”
They say a good movie should start with a bang and then lead to a dramatic climax, like this series did. Thanks to the strong openings of Noah Almonte, a Swiss who came up with some cleverly sculpted surreal ensembles in quilted nylon and bold checks, and who clearly has the design chops to walk into a Paris couture studio. Followed by Théophane Sorin, a French creator whose ruching, technical delicacy and absurd final meeting of pleated silk and mannequins heralded talent.
While Slovenia's Nika Mocnik's use of filler and wicked cuts marked her as someone to watch in the future. As does South Korean Victoria Yujin Kwon's technical prowess and sense of chutzpah, seen in South Korea's Victoria Yujin Kwon's waxy damsel of hers with a perspex skirt and elephantine penis.
Honorable mentions for Dani Reto, from The Crazy Brides of Iraq; Gwen Bodiu, of the claustrophobic dresses of France; the rather magical cartoon cut-out fantasies of the Italian Emanuel Simmerle; and especially the cool cowboy volume by Frenchman Anthony Icones.
Also, in second to last place, there was a great performance by Hyeonseo Yoo, a mini-show titled 'Today's Uniforms' with a commendable cinematic style.
Otherwise, there were moments when one felt the need to remind the students that the point of the exercise is not to dress an Uzbek goth band when they place 15th in next year's Eurovision Song Contest, so ridiculous They were his ideas. They say that sometimes youth is wasted on young people and sometimes so are fashion schools.
That being said, was this a vintage year in terms of primeur fashion? It may not be exactly 1989 in Bordeaux, but there was still plenty of talent worth admiring and acquiring.
All of the young hopefuls share a two-style finish, each deliberately sporting Ceasefire Now. In Milan men's fashion these last four days there was not a shred of information about Gaza. Paris spoke on the first day of this six-day men's season that began today.
Vowels: New York meets Tokyo with fresh, street-ready vernacular
One brand expanding vernacular fashion is Vowels, a novel street concept that made its European debut Tuesday morning in Paris.
Presented on a dusty floor of the Musée des Arts et Métiers, where a cast of 20 walked around with the Japanese-made collection, designed by Yuki Yagi, a veteran of American street brands.
All about detail and craftsmanship in a unisex collection prepared with artisanal craftsmanship, like the large dimpled cotton cargo pants embroidered with small fabric flowers, or the patchwork denim jeans worn with attitude.
Nothing too revolutionary, but plenty of smart products: knit cardigans with collars; densely woven cotton work jackets; and fantastic technological protective jackets with memory, so the touch of a hand changes color.
It's telling that you could feel the cast loved the clothes. They said fashion, but not very quietly. A memorable first at-bat for Yuki, all the way to the lookbook photographed in Japan by Nigel Shafran. That he wandered from Yuki's grandmother's house, the industrial wastelands and mountains near Tokyo. A sight that resonated in the Parisian ensemble of tree trunks, stone sculptures and paper flowers.
Vowels does not yet have a store, but rather a research library built at 76 Bowery, in New York's Chinatown.
Their plan: build a self-sustaining business model, with 100 strong wholesale doors and annual sales of 30 to 40 million euros in five years. This seemed like a very strong start.
Kartik Research: Delhi dreaming near Notre Dame
The third debut of the day was Kartik Research by LVMH Prize semi-finalist Kartik Kumra, and an ode to all things India, especially its fearless durability.
Presented within a beautiful building, the recently restored Philanthro-Lab, on the Seine near Notre Dame, this was an admirable meeting of Indian artisans and brave recycling.
The best ideas were a fabulous range of blazers made from recycled quilts, fine Indian materials with multiple stitching and lots of military pockets. Everyone enjoyed some fantastic embroidery, an elegant hippie sensibility of today.
“The goal of the idea is to create clothes without using electricity,” explained founder Kartik Kumra.
While its cool sequin embroidery on several mini linen Nehru jackets was inspired by the jersey designs of the 1999 Indian cricket team, led by legendary batsman Sachin Tendulkar.
“He is the Lionel Messi of cricket,” smiled Kartik.
This spring, Kumra opened her first store in her hometown of Delhi. This fall, there will be a second boutique on Orchard Street in New York's Lower East Side. His brand is moving.
Even the location seemed right, across the Seine from the grand cathedral in the midst of recovery from the terrible fire. Combining the old, the restored and the new, like Kartik Research.
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