 |
| latex clothes |
HOW can a bag which you hold in your hand be fashioned into something that you can wear on the body?
Speaking to Life! in Paris after his recent third show for Loewe, Narciso Rodriguez said he had done it by turning leather into a lightweight clothing material.
Tom Ford did it for Gucci by re-working the Hollywood tradition of the brand into glamorous shapes and silhouettes.
Michael Kors for Celine simply took a refresher course and cleaned everything up.
And Marc Jacobs for Louis Vuitton made his mark anew by putting the brand's famed monogrammed print on latex clothes and accessories.
But the 36-year-old Rodriguez told this reporter that he went back to Loewe's spartan, soft-as-silk leather basics.
Look at the dress that made him the new darling of the apparel world, for example.
It was for Carolyn Bessette's 1996 wedding to John F. Kennedy Jr.
It was simply a sliver of silver material which moulded to the main material, the woman.
"When I design, I think of what's immaterial and what's material," he emphasised in Paris.
He has told the American press that when he was asked to design the gown, he thought first of the ultra-clean chic of the bride, so he cut out all frills.
What was material for her was that she was getting married so he used sexy, shiny silk-crepe material.
And what was material to him, as a designer, were seams.
So he sliced up a sinew of a floor-sweeping slip with a hint of ruffles at the ankles, and the rest is history.
Now he would like to make history with Loewe leather.
Since he joined Spain's most famous bag company last year, its carry-alls have never been more foldable, floppy and fun.
To make leather wearable, he has sliced it all up to piece together into slim skirts and avant-garde coats.
But after visiting Loewe's leather tanneries at Cataluna recently, he came up with a brainwave for next year's spring/summer season.
"We could already make it feel like material and shine like material so why not weave it with material and turn leather into a new clothing material?" he said.
The results were linen-light, double-faced suede dresses and paper-light, perforated, iridescent leather woven into ketupat tops.
It was the finale of his recent show and you can see one example of such a top on the next page.
Though it looks modern and new, it is also classic and wearable, the hallmarks of Rodriguez's style.
His emphasis is on casual luxury, and when asked to describe the Loewe woman, he said: "She is built for speed."
She is also young and glamorous, like Kate Moss who reportedly bought up almost the entire launch collection of his eponymous line, which Loewe has allowed him to keep.
And he also likes to surprise with a sprinkling of sparkling sequins for the day and sportswear-inspired clothes, such as jumpsuits, for the night.
It explains why classy but quirky Hollywood stars such as Claire Danes and Sigourney Weaver took Rodriguez to the Oscars last year, in a knit top and slithery skirt and slinky gown respectively.
Unshaven and wearing a holey sweater and crumpled jeans, the young designer seemed disorientated by the horde of reporters hounding him after the show.
The reason for that became clear when he gave this answer to a question: "I'm in this business to create a buzz without making a spectacle.
没有评论:
发表评论