Natalia Alaverdian is a dynamo with a magpie imagination and a penchant for quirk. Her collections are usually layered with so many references, it’s almost the antithesis of what they teach in fashion schools—i.e., “take one reference and stick to it.” Coherent, cohesive, orderly, and rational aren’t the adjectives to describe the A.W.A.K.E. label.
For Pre-Fall, Alaverdian put into her fashion percolator the clean minimalism of the ’90s—or, as she explained cryptically, “’90s minimal businesswear slightly screwed up.” Then there’s her Scottish Highlander/Wuthering Heights/Victorian–tinged romanticism and beloved Japanese deconstruction, which keep coming back no matter what. “I didn’t intentionally go for it, so I don’t know. It just comes through and I’m, ‘Oh, hello again!’” she quipped.
Apparently, trying to find in her collections one significant theme is just a moot point, so better to read them as the instinctive cut-and-paste creative processes they are. Pre-Fall was redolent of a bevy of ’90s-extracted elements; detecting influences from Helmut Lang, Romeo Gigli, and the Japanese designers of that time was a no-brainer. They were apparent in the slim-cut silhouette of pencil skirts and cut-out stretchy tops; in the absence of decorations and embellishments; and in the streamlined sexy vibe of tight black vinyl skirts worn with open-back, ruched cotton tops or with heart-shaped décolletages. Asymmetrical details also pointed in that direction, as in a high-waisted sunray-pleated circle skirt paired with an oversize blouse, or with a one-shouldered shirt worn backward.
For evening, Alaverdian took a less conceptualized approach; the results were unusually dressy by her standards. A romantic motif in black and white was printed on a long apron dress with trapeze-cut plissé paneling at the back, while a fluid silhouette made an appearance via a glamorous long pleated dress in shimmering silver. “It has a kind of ’70s vibe, as well, a bit Halston and Lauren Hutton here and there,” noted Alaverdian.
