Yacine Aouadi found the starting point for his third couture collection in the Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba, Spain. It’s a World Heritage Site that over the centuries has been a place of worship for Muslims and Christians. Aouadi liked the optics of the building, both metaphorically—“It’s a good message of peace,” he said—and literally. Symbols of both religions mingled on his 13 looks, as did references to medieval dress, the era that the house of worship dates from. Take, for instance, the fitted tunic-length tee cut from sheared lamb’s fur that Aouadi likened to a knight’s armor. Vaguely Moorish mosaiclike embroideries decorated a panne velvet sheath, and the palette was long on cardinal red and papal purple.
The faithfulness of his interpretation of Cordoue, as Cordoba is known in France, will of course mean very little to potential clients. What presumably counts for couture customers is craftsmanship and the quality of the made-to-order experience. The good news is that the embroideries and other handwork here looked very well done. Delicate Lesage embroidery spelling out Aouadi’s initials on a green shorts suit was impressive, even if the look itself was a tad unlikely. Couture shorts? An ultra-fitted all-in-one that extended just south of the knees seemed similarly dubious, but its jet beadwork was faultless.
In these early days of Aouadi’s business, it would seem wise to focus on the special-occasion pieces that women are willing to spend big on, and the kinds of things that might get borrowed by a celebrity whose star power would raise awareness of the brand. In that category, a purple velvet camisole and skirt stitched from hundreds of fabric discs to resemble fish scales looked a little close to the work of Givenchy’s Riccardo Tisci, but was striking nonetheless.
