PARIS S/S 2010: TIM VAN STEENBERGEN, IMPASSE DE LA DEFENSE,  DEVASTEE, LUIS BUCHINHO & FATIMA LOPES

TIM VAN STEENBERGEN

The show of Belgian designer, Tim Van Steenbergen started off with a bang. Unfortunately there were a few technical hiccups with an exploding light and the annoying distortion of the male singer’s amplifier but all in all the latest collection was an impeccable display of his talents with fabric. Inspired by the creativity of the self contained, religious communities of the Shakers from the 18th century. The collection was anything other than simple. The start of the collection was in neutral shade of beiges and whites and progressed into blacks and blues. But it was the detailing in all the pieces that made you look twice. With the fabrics twisted and draped. Then tucked and shaped into rosettes or draped and plaited, every piece of clothing was wearable but intriguing. Jersey tops and dresses had elegant asymmetric draped shoulders and jackets of all styles were re- worked with either drapes or cross hatched fabric, shirting was plaited and waistcoats with interesting suspender detailing. All mixed in with bodysuits and underwear, then styled with oversized shoulder bags and cinched waist belts. The looks were a nice mix of modern yet retro.

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IMPASSE DE LA DEFENSE

Being the first show on Monday morning at 10am, it was a relief the Impasse de la Defense show was set in the gastronomically reknowned location, Le Train Bleu.While eating breakfast and sipping coffee we viewed their latest collection. Models’ heads and arms were wrapped with twisted wire pieces and on whole the collection had a 60’s mod inspired feel. Shift dresses were patched and panelled in bright acid colours. Some were adorned with embellishments or geometric prints. Styled up with bright coloured leggings and a couple of box cut jackets the juxtaposition in the restaurant looked more like an alien landing. We’re not quite sure if this was their intention but the mix of clothing, styling and location was quite odd. The evening dresses in the collection were interesting, some had wired hems and good laser prints but most of them were cut in the same strapless silhouette. By the time the paint splattered print version hit the runway, we started to lose our interest. Unfortunately the collection had an air of first year fashion student and we had hoped for more of an evolution.

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DEVASTEE

“Hallucinations, depressions, leisure, cemetery, spread, the same, lugubrious, playground, amorbid, sadness, pizza, paranoia” were the words embossed on the booklet that was left for each guest at the Devastee show held in the Salon des Miroirs 13 passage in Paris. These words don’t portray the line accurately, in reality the show was full of girly fresh & squeaky clean looks; though a few of the ready to wear pieces featured skull prints, they were smiling skulls. The collection was entirely black and white with polka dots, stripes and skull prints with the only color being the girls bright red lips.

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LUIS BUCHINHO

From Portuguese designer, Luis Buchinho we were shown a collection full of flowing silks, exaggerated ruffle details and gill like pleats. Most of the collection was cut in light silks that were pleated or layered then draped in asymmetric Grecian goddess style, some left fluid and trailed. It almost made the models look like they were walking in water. The palette of the collection started off in baby blues, peaches, white and violet then popped with electric blue, pink, acid orange and black. Some of the pants looked a little clumsy with way too many ruffles and a few pieces had too many tricks and drapes. The strengths in the collection were some interesting dresses.

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FATIMA LOPES

In the Salon des Miroirs we watched the collection of Fatima Lopes. The colours of the clothing probably popped louder than the balloons in the background. In shades of fuschia, cobalt blue, oranges and yellows some of the more interesting pieces of clothing were worked with knife pleat detailing on pants and shoulders and cut away details in the backs and waist. With the mix of the colour palette, hemlines that skimmed the bottom, swimwear that double sided tape couldn’t save and shorts that only certain breeds can get away with, this collection was a WAGS dream. We wish she could have stayed away from the lace panels and unfortunately some of the evening dresses looked like they could end up on the ‘What Not To Wear’ pages.

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Reporting by Indira Cesarine and Wil Ariyamethe ; photography by Earnest Aregail Salgot and David Chen exclusively for XXXX MAGAZINE, 2009