You can take fashion out of Paris, but you can’t take Paris out of fashion. The history of contemporary Western mode (including the concepts of branded garments and named designers) links back to the city of light and, it’s generally acknowledged, to the House of Worth, an Englishman in Paris. In 1927 the Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne (ECSCP) was founded to foster talent and to preserve and pass on artisanal savoir faire. Nearly 60 years later, in 1986, Pierre Bergė of Yves Saint Laurent founded his own school, Institut Français de la Mode (IFM). Two years ago, the two institutions merged, retaining the name of the latter. Today the graduating students, a global group who persevered through the pandemic, kicked off Paris Fashion Week at the invitation of the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode. Showcased here are the collections by students completing their master’s degrees in fashion design and knitwear.
Student work is a bellwether of the future, and, speaking broadly, this graduating class is not only pushing the limits of their materials and métier, but using garments to address issues around sustainability, gender, inclusivity, and community. As Dr. Leyla Neri, head of master of arts in fashion design, explains, for example, Etienne Diop (looks 22-26) from Marseille collaborated with Senegalese artists in his hometown to create the beautiful textiles that he worked into voluminous looks that crossed cultures. More revealing are the designs of Ibrahima Gueye (looks 50-54), who was born in Senegal and worked with an artisan there on the sculptural pieces that wrap around the models like armor.
Claire Barreau’s (looks 1-7) and Riccardo Russo’s (104-100) collections were more biographical, dealing with body diversity and gender, respectively. Russo, a Sicilian, not only sent up traditional male stereotypes using couture tropes, but made use of the language that has come to be associated with the new school of sexy bodycon dressing, designed by women for the female gaze, thereby questioning the inclusivity of this categorization. The work of Anna Heim (looks 55-61) falls into the aforementioned category; what’s unique about her take on the body revealing look is the delicate top-layer pieces of threaded metal rings, which take the Paco Rabanne tradition in a super feminine, fragile direction.
Hugo Castejon-Blanchard (looks 16-21), Geun-Yeong Go (43-49), and Sejin Park (97-103) each explored the ways fashion can take up space, and hold shape. That trend, set in motion by Glenn Martens, has spread across fashion, and it’s interesting to see how these designers make use of it. Note Castejon-Blanchard’s gravity defying sweatpants and the slinky-like construction of Go’s pants that create a sense of dynamism. Park’s work, which plays with ideas of control and release, is dramatically graphic. It’s easy to imagine Erato Fotopoulos’s Christo-esque voluminous painted and bound garments working as stand-alone sculptures.
We’re in the midst of a renaissance in knitwear and Lou Comte (looks 167-172) manages to make her fine webs look futuristic and organic at once. There’s something hive-like about the dimensional constructs of Man Hei Carrie Keung (looks 193-197). In contrast, Maria Streang’s (looks 211-216) multimedia approach has a more laid back Summer of Love vibe.
