In Paris, the cubist haute couture of Viktor & Rolf, the lyrical haute couture of Yuima Nakazato

Beyond ruffles, ruffles and princess dresses, the Paris Haute Couture Week dedicated to autumn-winter 2024/25, which ended on Thursday, showed more experimental and contemporary proposals. This was the case of Balenciaga, one of the best-known names, but also of other houses that are increasingly attracting more attention, such as Viktor & Rolf, with a delicious cubist-inspired collection, or Yuima Nakazato, with an almost mystical theatrical air. . production.

In the case of Viktor & Rolf, fashion is constantly changing, pushing the limits of unconventional, abstract and even artistic and avant-garde fashion. For their new work, Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren have looked back, more specifically at their second haute couture collection, “Atomic Bomb” from autumn-winter 1998-99, launched twenty-six years ago and considered their first truly revolutionary manifesto, with their mushroom-shaped puffy bodice silhouettes.

But they wanted to go further and not limit themselves solely to this precious shape defined by voluminous tops, as illustrated again in their Fall-Winter 2022 collection. This season they have been inspired by the artistic movements of Cubism and Constructivism, as well as children's games. based on simple geometric shapes. Spheres, cubes, parallelepipeds, cones and pyramids are incorporated into garments, usually around the neck or torso, creating a geometric distortion of the body.

The clothes are made from beautiful fabrics in bright colors or prints with large polka dots and stripes. The bold mix and match, with its prominent shoulders and big bows, recalls a certain spirit of the 80s. A soft green garment bag becomes a long dress, while a giant red cotton balloon with white polka dots serves as a bodice. Combined with a short black and white Vichy fabric coat with puffed sleeves, it adds roundness to the silhouette.

A checked tetrahedron jacket, paired with a miniskirt, points its nose dangerously forward, while sharply raising its shoulders, to create an American footballer look. Elsewhere, a classic pair of grey satin trousers has the waist flared out to form a half-sphere, an elegant striped minidress is fitted around a rectangular collar, while a cylinder woven from copper thread acts as a coat. And what about this gold lurex evening dress, its torso inflated like a helium balloon, or this accordion-shaped top with an extra-wide strawberry flared collar?

Behind the playful and sculptural aspect of this collection, titled “High Abstraction”, the main objective of the Dutch design duo is to form “spontaneous and slightly absurd compositions, mixing elements of clothing with abstraction, with the aim of taking the viewer's mind out of the past and encouraging free exploration,” they state in their statement of intent.

See catwalk

Yuima Nakazato has created a dark and powerful collection, all in red and black, which is on display until 5 January at the Cité de la Dentelle et de la Mode in Calais with an exhibition dedicated to his avant-garde creations made in 3D or in innovative fabrics. The Japanese designer is inspired by Idomeneo, Mozart's opera dedicated to the tragedy of the King of Crete, for which he designed the costumes for the ballet performance presented in Geneva earlier this year under the direction of Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, and by his own experience in the theatre.

Influenced by this lyrical universe, he transformed the fashion catwalk into a theatrical stage, with the dancers of the Geneva Ballet covered in large hanging golden ceramic buttons that jingled with their every movement, while male and female models walked around them with solemn steps, stopping to cast off their heavy coats or long, majestic black capes, before revealing sinuous gossamer robes in blood-red macramé.

Sometimes these cloaks were worn inside out, revealing a beautiful lining of red-patterned tapestry fabric. Elsewhere, a thick red rope was wound around the neck and torso. Movement was also punctuated by long fringes that undulated into ornamental necklaces, tied around the waist like an apron or hanging from bracelets attached to the upper arms. The antique air of these elongated, almost tribal silhouettes is accentuated by ceramic jewelry sculptures made by the designer and his team using Japanese clay.

Always at the forefront of technological textiles, which combines with artisanal processes, Yuima Nakazato confirms its commitment to limiting its environmental impact by using in this collection a mixed fabric, composed of 70% cotton and 30% Brewed Protein™ fibers developed by Spiber. Taking advantage of Epson's advanced pigment inkjet printing technology of Japan to create the designs from it. With a sculptor father and a jeweler mother, the designer studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp and created his brand in 2015, which he has presented at Paris Haute Couture Week since 2016.