Females Stand Together For Force at Haider Ackermann RTW Spring ‘16Columbian-born designer Haider Akermann, proves that a girl gang doesn’t have to be copy-cat. His spring ready-to-wear collection shown at Paris Fashion Week, was exhibited by a group of fearless, nonconformist women emerging from the darks of billowing smoke. He wanted to display a gang of girls with strong personalities; “We all need to find a strength with each other, even though we’re all individual, even though we all have our story to tell” says Akermann.
The collection, which was shown at the magnificent Palais de Chaillot, was an expression of contrast. It blended dress codes of punk and poetic, boyish and feminine. Pleated trousers were made from shantung silks in pastels and brights, while cropped leather jackets were worn over ruffled pussy-bow blouses. Models appeared in their playful madness to an eery classical soundtrack, accompanied by a grand operatic (female) voice. |
Photo: businessoffashion.com
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A satin-lapeled boxy tuxedo jacket is cinched in at the waist with an oversized metallic leather belt, bare skin underneath. Cropped leather trousers are worn with hand-in-the-pocket boyish attitude, sitting low-slung on the hip. They reveal sheer hosiery below. Black leather ankle boots paired with a troll-doll pastel mohawk keep the look rock n’ roll.
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Ackermann plays with a mix of material in a similar color scheme, silk pastels mirror mauve velvets on what resembles half a men’s smoking jacket and half a woman’s nightgown. As well as exuding a blend of sexy and edgy, it may be influenced by his fondness of cultural differences. He uses resources and mixes of materials to represent dynamic and urban areas, high and low cultures. The simple cuts which are often asymmetric are resolutely modern, and the silhouettes are sophisticated. Ackermanns’s designs are worn by strong-charactered females, such as celebrities Tilda Swinton, and Janet Jackson. His pointy leather boot with a zebra hair toe cap in this look suits that tough femininity.
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A long white tuxedo jacket with a built in fringe neck scarf drapes over the shoulders of an unfastened waistcoat, revealing a pale torso. Lime colored silk trousers with a grey grosgrain waistband are worn cropped and relaxed for comfort, like fine loungewear. Paint-splattered slip-ons suggest diligence or vulnerability, while a neon pink mohawk and lilac veil of false hair pieces protect the face; almost like soft armor.
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A strange look for a strange world.
Video: Vogue YouTube channel
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