Time After Time: Paris Fashion Week's Seventies Zeitgeist

 Ziggy Stardust and all things David Bowie were some of the key inspirations in Paris this season. The 1970s ruled many catwalks with thigh high boots, glitter, tartan and flares. Pictured is a shimmering mini-cape from Barbara Bui's collection. Cover picture & photograph above by Elli Ioannou 

Our correspondent in Paris looks behind the scenes at what it takes to get a collection onto the runway at fashion week in the French capital for Autumn/Winter 2016 and discovers that the 1970s vibe is still the key direction, with David Bowie and the Sex Pistols all important influences along with short hair, thigh high boots and tartan. Story & photographs by Elli Ioannou


5am emblazoned on models at Lea Peckre 

TIME is an important factor when it comes to creating a fashion show, at least five months of preproduction are needed for the designer and their team to put a collection on to the catwalk. And on the day of the show, there are at least seven hours of work and preparation behind the scenes leading up to the models appearing on the runway. This includes briefing the models on the choreography, practise runs for hair and make up, final fittings, garment adjustments and testing the lighting and music.

Neo-Goth meets New Romantic at Lea Peckre



Putting on a fashion show is all about timing and this is a key theme for award-winning French designer Léa Peckre's AW16 collection 5.00am, Dragon arum vulgaris. As guests begin to arrive for the designer's show, the lights are dimmed and the sound designer Erwan Sene sets the mood for the collection with dark, loud and mysterious sounds.  

The models wear square nose rings and tattooed numbers of  5:00 am around their necks reflecting the theme of the collection, while the pre-dawn hour is repeated in more cryptic motifs on the clothes. We sit waiting by the empty runway which finally gets underway half an hour late (like most of the shows), and the sense of time speeds faster as the music cranks up and the models hit the catwalk.

Andy Warhol's "fifteen minutes of fame" matches the length of the shows which are all over too soon for another season.

Big hair and a '70s aesthetic at Barbara Bui

The architectural space where the shows are held also reflect the direction of each fashion house. While more established designers like Barbara Bui showed at the prestigious Grand Palais, emerging designers such as Léa Peckre and Ellery put on their runway collections at the contemporary and more edgy Palais de Tokyo. The place where a show is held not only creates the atmosphere but offers photo opportunities inside and out for the scrum of jostling photographers.

Tartan, leather & velvet at Barbara Bui 

The directions for this season unmistakably embody the zeitgeist of the 1970s, where disco, Studio 54, David Bowie and the Sex Pistols were all important influences. The innovative fashion of the time directed this season's collections with fabrics such as tartan, leather, fringing, tweed, velvet and metallics. The models at Barbara Bui looked like a young Biana Jagger, Iman or Blondie partying at Studio 54 and captured the '70s aesthetic with short hair and thigh high boots, that any Bond girl would have proudly worn.

Green, purple & mini dresses at Barbara Bui

The designer's collection included bright green and purple leather coats, mini dresses, along with Scottish sexy tartan fitted tunics. The Paris-born Barbara Bui has been showing her designs since 1987 and in 1998 BB was launched as a high fashion brand with stores around the world including Paris, Milan and New York. Whereas young French designer Léa Peckre’s “time” collection moved into the 1980s with a New Romantic meets Neo-Goth direction with ruffles, petal-shaped skirts, rippling shirts, fitted mesh tops and leather and white maxi stretch mesh dresses. 

Sheer maxi-dresses & shirts at Lea Peckre 

The colour palette was in white, black and grey. Models also wore another version of the classic billowy white shirt with hanging industrial style strings, sheer fitted dresses in white and black. Before launching her own label in the autumn/winter 2013 season, Lea Peckre worked at Givenchy, Jean-Paul Gaultier and Isabel Marant and today is one of Paris most interesting young designers.

Australian Kym Ellery showed her collection at the Palais de Tokyo and created metallic gold and bronze dresses with floaty Laura Ashley sleeves, white shirt dresses with tan leather thigh boots, gold mesh, deep velvet and even leather dresses. The collection included over sized tweed, ankle-length coats with hanging strings, outfits adorned with pink swan neck style fur finishes, bell-bottom, tulip-cut jeans and leather ankle and gold velvet boots which could have come directly out of London’s Soho in the 1970s
 

Ellery's sleek & tailored take on the Seventies

Ellery is based in Sydney and began her label in 2007 after being a fashion stylist for magazines. Known initially inside the fashion world, today the designer has a high profile following who wear her designs including Rihanna, Solange Knowles, Cate Blanchett, and Elle Fanning.
David Bowie has been one of Ellery's greatest muses and inspirations for the label's tailored 1970s looks. Ellery as a label made it's official, on-schedule debut in Paris last season and fulfilled another of the young designer's aims to show on the international fashion stage and with a touch of French elan too.


 Bell-bottom flairs & leather boots at Ellery

The designer has described her aesthetic as understated, monochromatic and often androgynous and she takes great care working with fabrics she has made in Italy and Switzerland which are then made locally in Sydney.

Like London fashion week, these shows in Paris indicated an original take on an iconic period in fashion making it relevant to 2016.

From Pink to Black with Lots of Colour Clash: Autumn/Winter 2016

Black is back at A.F Vandevorst with a splash of Gothic glamour for AW16. Picture by Mike Rolls 

London is often referred to as the colourful, youthful sister of Paris, Milan and New York fashion weeks. It has certainly always been the most experimental with its fresh and energetic collections. While last season’s collections focused on a soft feminine look, this Autumn/Winter 2016 shifted to an edgier, darker side. Limor Helfgott reports on the trends from the British capital's runways


Belstaff's snug new cape. Photo: Mike Rolls

Fashion editors, photographers and bloggers dash from show to show in London, New York, Milan and Paris taking in the key trends to look out for next season. Femininity and romance are still key themes in new collections, but the designers leaned towards amore Gothic glamour in London. Burberry will also bring the fashion from catwalk shows to High Street stores faster than ever, and fashionistas will be buying their favourite pieces almost straight from the runway.

Capes and over sized coats

Big coats & brilliant colour at Fyodor Golan 

Given the chilly London weather, coats are always a strong part of LFW collections. So it’s not a surprise that they are going to be important for AW16. This season, the overcoats and jackets on the catwalks were bigger, longer and slouchier with expansive sleeves. The trench coat was reinvented as always at Burberry, this time featuring sleek patent leather with polished buckles and military top-stitching.  Aside from over sized coats, the biggest outerwear trend on the catwalks were capes, they look like a very chic way to stay warm this winter.


Their comeback this season comes in many different versions. At Alexander McQueen we saw a dreamy foot length cape, shimmering with embroidered moons and stars which was another repeating motif this season. At Roksanda, there was a more classic version keeping the shape simple in a bold royal blue wool cape with a ladylike collar and black buttons. A more casual day wear design was shown at Belstaff, using a mixture of textures for a traditional feel offering warmth and comfort.

Think Pink & Add Some Bows
Bows were everywhere this season, but certainly the grown-up version and not the sweet kind.

Pink chiffon blouses with velvet bows at Roksanda AW16

A Gothic bow turned simple capes into new and interesting pieces. Topshop's bows were small and subtle, worn tightly around the neck or to tie together tops, while at Roskanda and Preen they were unapologetically large and dramatic. At Roksanda’s collection, although it was darker than usual and inspired by Charlotte Rampling’s character in the classic film The Night Porter,

 Bright pink at Fyodor Golan's London show

femininity was still key with velvet, silk and chiffon blouses with exaggerated wrists, and collars that were softened with bows of black ribbon. Pink is a traditionally pretty hue but has gotten all grown-up for winter and dominated the catwalks. It was definitely the colour this season. Every shade on the pink spectrum was seen, from soft roses to bold pinky reds to brighten up our wardrobes this season. Bright pink was the order of the day at Roksanda while pastel shades  brought the AW16 catwalks to life at Alexander McQueen, Preen and Holly Fulton. Does that mean we will be branching out from black? Not entirely. 


Sparkling black metallics gleamed at Sibling's show

Black & Glitter 
Inventive and exciting looks in all black from top-to-toe were seen in many of the designers' collections. This trend is good news for us who can’t stay away from the timeless shade but want subtle differences in shape and texture. There were shimmers or all-over sequins at Ashish, paired with glittering stilettos, exaggerated hairdos and even pyjamas. Sparkling metallics were seen all across the London collections, blurring the lines between seasons and occasions and enlivening the runways. Topshop Unique added a fully sequinned little black dress into their wearable mix, and Preen by Thornton Bregazzi lit up an autumnal, moody collection of burnt dark colours with candy floss pink sequin looks. Even Fyodor Golan, in their signature eclectic and bright collection, included an all black outfit, a tight dress with a white Coca-Cola logo going down the front.

Print & Colour Clash

Colour clash at Marques Almeida. Photo: Eva Rinnie

Looking at the new collections there is no such thing as too many colours in one outfit, many combined clashing vibrant hues. Anya Hindmarch included in her collection an assortment of oversized coats with classic retro game prints that correlated with the shoes. At Jasper Conran models hit the white runway in bright colours like avocado and pastels, bold stripes and geometric patterns overlaid on soft silk materials. 

While a print-clashing style was served up by Mary Katrantzou with florals mixed with  leopard print. Designer duo Fyodor Podgorny and Golan Frydman presented skirts and dresses in prints and bold colours. Mixing and matching is their signature and the designs were immediately recognisable for their risk-taking combinations. The Fyodor Golan girl certainly stands out at LFW, this time with repeat prints in an Andy Warhol style, wearing gold and silver brogues and pink, blue or green tights.

Splattered Eyewear
A.F. Vandevorst's collection by the Belgian husband and wife duo, who love to shock, put their models on the runway with dramatic powder paint make-up in bright blue and red splashed across their eyes. While at Burberry and Markus Lupfer the shows were more low key but models still wore smatterings of gold glitter. At Fyodor Golan the harsh under eyeliner came with messy wet look hair.

 Georgia May Jagger in black at Ashley Williams. Photo: Limor Helfgott

As always, London is the most divisive of all the fashion weeks across the globe.  It is where rules get broken and leads the way for new and avant-garde designers to show their work. We're interested to see how the trends seen during this autumn/winter 2016 on the runway will be transformed into high street fashion and how quickly it will happen this season.

New Exhibition: Ernesto Cánovas Show at London's Halycon Gallery

The Spanish artist working in his studio photographed by Susan Bell. Courtesy of Halycon Gallery

Ernesto Cánovas' new exhibition Multiplied opens today at Halycon Gallery in London's Mayfair. Lissandra Hemilton talks to the Spanish artist about his life and elegiac work that mixes different mediums such as printmaking, photography and painting to create an evanescent sense of memory and a disconcerting wistfulness


A Second Implication by Ernesto Canovas. Courtesy of Halycon Gallery

“Drawing, painting and photography give me the chance to manipulate the image the way I want and create something new but I am also considering other mediums as a form of expression,” Ernesto Cánovas says from his studio in London. “I like to keep an open mind.” The artist breaks down barriers between figurative images and abstraction and creates new narratives from both old and new media.

Difference in the Expressive Function of Current Events

“I consider myself a post analog painter,” he says. “I used digital image manipulation before I translated it to painting, so drawing and painting for me are just one part of my process.” Cánovas adds and removes layers from the wood panels onto which he transfers images combining them with abstract compositions. He works and reworks them before they are varnished and the finished works seem weather beaten, evoking sensations of lost places, nostalgia and memory, challenging the viewer to contemplate the fleeting present while being drawn back into a unknown past.

Green Room. Courtesy of Halycon Gallery 

Asked about what part of his work gives him the most happiness, Cánovas answers: “I think there is not a specific point for me that gives me happiness (love and hate) it is the whole process, from the first idea or the sketch to the final 'brush mark'.” For the new show Multiplied, Cánovas has created a series of works using large scale mixed media on wood panel, that continues his exploration of cinema, abstraction and found imagery. The use of different materials applied to the wooden canvas such as graphite drawings, acrylic, mixed media, enamel paint and resin create a strong sense of natural and man-made and past and present. At the new exhibition, some of the work on display is a collaborative partnership between Ernesto and his wife, Polish artist Gracjana Rejemer-Cánovas.


Conspiracy. Courtesy of Halycon Gallery

Today, Canovas lives and works in London, but he was born in Barcelona and this year will start a residency at the prestigious Art Centre Espronceda in his home city. The artist graduated with a BA (Hons) in Drawing and Painting from Edinburgh College of Art in 2009 and then went on to complete an MFA from the Slade School of Art in London in 2011. He was selected for The New Contemporaries Exhibition in Edinburgh and was awarded the Stevenson Award for Painting in 2010 and received the Premio Ora arts award in 2013.

1. Where did you grow up and does this place still influence your artwork? I grew up in Barcelona and I’m sure there is some Mediterranean influence in my work, somehow.

2. Why did you choose painting and drawing as your artistic métier? Drawing, painting and photography give me the chance to manipulate the image the way I want it and create something new but I am also considering others mediums as a form of expression. I like to keep an open mind.

3. What aspect of painting and drawing gives you the most happiness? I think there is not a specific point for me that gives me happiness (love and hate) it is the whole process, from the first idea or the sketch to the final “brush mark”.

4. What do you find the most challenging aspect of your work? To create something that will fully satisfy me.


Systematic Ambiguity. Halycon Gallery 

5. Can you describe the experience, person or training that has had the greatest impact on your artistic career? Travelling around always had an impact on my work. Finding out different cultures is very rewarding. People in cities like New York, London and Paris just to name a few are full of energy and have a great influence on my life and career.

6. Describe your studio and whether you have a set schedule of working everyday? Or is the process more fluid? I’m very flexible when it comes to studio work, sometimes I can be there from 7am and spend all day at the studio, or I will just stay home reading and doing some research …somedays a walk in the park will do.

7. Do you find your creative process is more rational or instinctive? I work ninety per cent instinctively, ten per cent rationally but at the end of the day it all makes sense…I think!

8. How would you describe working as a contemporary artist in Europe today? Europe has a great diversity and awareness from South to North…East to West. It is a good place to be for as an artist.

9. Is there a particular town or place in the world you find inspiring? As I have mentioned before big cities full of energy are always inspiring to me.

10. In our digital age, what do painting and drawing give us as art forms? I consider myself a post-analog painter. I used digital image manipulation before I translated it to painting so drawing and painting for me is just one part of my process…maybe drawing and painting give us the human touch the we connect with.

Multiplied by Ernesto Canovas runs from February16th until March 13th 2016 at Halycon Gallery:144-146 New Bond Street, London, W1S 2PF United Kingdom. Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7100 7144 Opening hours: Monday to Saturday: 10am-6pm and Sunday: 11am-5pm: www.halcyongallery.com/exhibitions/ernesto-canovas-multiplied

10 Question Column: Dichroic Art Chair Inspired by Daft Punk

Blurring the lines between art and design, DJs and designers Juliette Mutzke-Felippelli & Diogo Felippelli, pictured at The Week club in Rio de Janeiro, are inspired by French experimental artists like Daft Punk, Etienne de Crecy & Cassius 

American designer Juliette Mutzke-Felippelli and Brazilian Diogo Felippelli first met on the dance floor at a club in Rio de Janeiro before they opened their design studio Joogii in Los Angeles. Today, French house music is still one of their key inspirations, especially for their dynamic new chair. Jeanne-Marie Cilento asked them 10 Questions about their life and work

French Touch's luminous layers, a homage to French house music   

FRENCH experimental artists like Daft Punk, Cassius and Etienne De Crecy inspired the design of Juliette Mutzke-Felippelli and Diogo Felippelli's latest work. Called French Touch, the chair pays homage to the nineties house music scene and its legacy to modern electronic music. Blurring the lines between art and design, the luminous colour spectrum of the chair's reflective surfaces and the puzzle-like lap joints are a metaphor for the conceptual way the music tracks were produced by layering disco samples with filters. "To create that distinct sound, it was all about mixing uplifting disco samples with heavy filters," says Mutzke-Felippelli. “I interpreted this layering and filtering process literally by using dichroic film, which acts as this beautiful colour filter applied to the flat acrylic surfaces of the chair, creating plays and reflections of light."

Playing to big crowds as DJ's at Rio's Museum of Modern Art

House music was always one of Juliette Mutzke-Felippelli's passions and while she was studying in Rio De Janeiro she met Brazilian Diogo Felippelli who was already a DJ in the city. Once they started dating they decided to deejay together at big clubs in Rio and also produce music. They then moved to Southern California and signed with a local label producing house music and doing shows in Los Angeles and Orange County.   

Designers Juliette Mutzke-Felippelli & Diogo Felippelli 

The couple decided to start their own company, Joogii, so they could open a studio together. They have been working creatively since they met nearly ten years ago and wanted to be able to work on design, art and music projects. While Juliette first completed her Global Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, she later decided to do a degree in Interior Design with an emphasis on furniture design at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising. "Diogo's degrees in Communications plus an MBA have helped us build our design business," she says. 

The French Touch chair is designed and manufactured in Los Angeles and composed of dichroic film applied to CNC-cut acrylic, connected by steel bolts. “The film is cut and applied to the inner surfaces of the chair," Mutzke-Felippelli says. "The most important factor determining the design of the chair was to show off the 'dichroic effect'. So we created flat surfaces at every angle on the chair so you can see how the colors change while playing with light and shadow.” The chair will be available as a limited edition for $7,500. Scroll to the end of story to hear the mixtape created by the designers & DJs  for the French Touch chair.

Designing the J1 watch created by the couple's Joogii studio 

1.After working in music production and as deejays, how did you begin your career as designers? Music, like design, has a logic as well as an architectural building process. Musical tracks have different components like high hats and claps, that need to be considered the same way that form and function are considered in design. A great artist or designer also understands the value of resonating on an emotional level with their audience. I didn’t officially begin my career in design until going back to school to pursue my second degree in Interior Design. Diogo has been working in graphic design his whole career.

2. Why did you choose design as your artistic metier? We were hungry to create objects, concepts and environments that reflect who we are and what we love. The design industry has so many outlets where we can express ourselves, it feels like there are never ending possibilities to explore. 

Overlapping puzzle joints like music sampling

3. Can you describe the experience, person or training that has had the greatest impact on your design careers so far? There are so many moments that have brought us onto the path we are on today. I grew up around design as my father has worked in the industry his entire life (working in surface and industrial design) so he instilled in me an appreciation for it. Ever since I was a child, he would point out special buildings, like when we were in Argentina and he took my family to Faena Hotel which was designed by Philippe Starck. I feel in love with Starck’s whimsy and his ability to create magic in spaces. Diogo always had a passion for graphic design.   As a teenager he admired Washington Olivetto, the owner of W/Brasil, a famous ad agency known for their forward-thinking advertising campaigns. It influenced him to apply for a job in art direction at an ad agency after he graduated college. Since then, he has grown his passion for all types of art and design including typography and photography.

4. Where did you grow up and does this place inspire your creative work? Growing up in Newport Beach has always pushed me to pursue original ideas. The area is very traditional and conservative in a lot of ways and I think that has given me a very high appreciation for novelty.

The French Touch chair's layering of light & colours

5. Today, you are based in Los Angeles, what does the city give you creatively? We love living in Los Angeles. There is so much activity in the art industry right now in LA and it is so exciting to see so many new museums and that creative culture really bloom right in the front of our eyes. It feels like there is movement going on in the city and we are a part of it. One of our favourite things to do to get inspired is to visit the Brewery Art Walk downtown in the spring and fall. It's a great opportunity to see what local artists are creating in their own environment.

6.  Do you find your creative process when designing more rational or instinctive? I think we are both very instinctual. If we have an idea that feels right, we go for it.

Dichroic film on acrylic give the chair its rainbow hues

7. What do find the most challenging aspect of working as designers? Finishing. I think the easiest part of the design process is coming up with the idea. The hardest part is the details ~ especially towards the end of the project where the details are so critical to the design. And then once you have a prototype built, it can be difficult to evaluate it without emotional attachment. We design things that we love so it can be challenging to take a critical look at the finished piece.

8. What part of the designing and making process gives you the most happiness? We love being designers. To come up with an idea and figure out how to make it happen and then actually make it happen is so gratifying. I feel like half the battle in our industry is just perseverance. It’s always a question of willpower and belief to see a project through, especially when you are working on a project that is unorthodox or untested. The whole process can be thrilling and terrifying, but if you have belief and perseverance, I think you can create something special. To see other people enjoy the finished product is icing on the cake.

J1 watch designed by Juliette Mutzke-Felippelli & Diogo Felippelli

9. Do you have a set schedule of working creatively everyday or is the process more fluid?   It’s very fluid for us. I read once that Olafur Elliason (one of our favourite designers/artists) likes to do the thinking in the morning and the building in the afternoon and we try to prescribe to that as we think it’s effective.

10. In our digital age, what does design give us as an art form? Design is the new art. Advances in technology, especially 3D printing are allowing designers to test and create more intricately and faster than ever before. It is expanding the limits of design to allow for more artistic gestures, which we are embracing wholeheartedly.

Mixtape created by the designers for the French Touch chair:

Unguarded Moments: Backstage at Paris Men's Fashion Week AW16

Models backstage in Paris on the balcony at the Palais de Tokyo before the Issey Miyake AW16 show. Photograph and cover picture at Valentino AW16 Paris by Elli Ioannou Photomedia

Reporting from Paris, our correspondent Elli Ioannou captures the evocative backstage world of fashion shows where models & photographers are at the centre of the creative storm that ebbs and flows around the runway
  

Preened & dressed: ready for the runway 

DUE to the demands of social media, fashion shows are now either streamed live or released shortly afterwards. Capturing something backstage which is a truly unguarded moment is all about the models who are being prepared for the shows. From a photography approach, it has to be a documentary style rather than set up. There is a whole process based around life backstage for a model, a lot of waiting and being tended to by at least three to five people, from dressers to hair and make-up aritists and then more waiting to go on to the catwalk.  It is a life strung between infinite boredom and a high level of drama and pressure.

Waiting is a model's life: Issey Miyake AW16

Yet modelling can offer both excitement and opportunities as a profession, as the adrenalin rush kicks in once a show is underway and also at the exotic places it can take you around the world. Often the cities and the spaces where the shows are held are dream destinations. For example, models can step out on to the rear balcony of the Palais des Tokyo, for a short break  in foggy, wintry Paris between shows with the misty view of the Eiffel tower. For the professional photographer working during fashion week, there are essentially three areas for shooting.

Scrum of photographers compete for the best spot

There is the pit, as it is referred to in the industry because it can often be a real fight for the best position, even though most media have spots allocated. This is where the press photographers have to get the classic clean shot of the model looking down the lens. The second area (my favourite) is backstage and this is often one of the hardest to access but offers the most creative freedom.

Shooting backstage at Issey Miyake

Shooting backstage you need to be really mindful of not getting in the way and yet still be gutsy and assertive so you get the shots you want. A high level of professionalism is also called for and most photographers are not allowed to stay backstage once the show begins, unless they’ve been given prior permission. Then there are the ‘street’ photographers including bloggers and paparazzi who capture the atmosphere and the street style of those attending the fashion shows.

Paris Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 2016: London Showrooms with Charles Jeffrey, Alex Mullins and Rory Parnell Mooney

London club style: designer Charles Jeffrey with his new collection in Paris. Portrait by Elli Ioannou for DAM Magazine

Art was the key inspiration in Paris this season for Autumn/Winter 2016 during men's fashion week. Emerging designers showing at the London Showrooms event, presented avant-garde and raw collections using collage, photo montage and Pop Art, report Jeanne-Marie Cilento and Elli Ioannou from the French capital.

The London Showrooms in Paris 

IN PARIS, walking into the London Showrooms for Autumn/Winter 2016 feels more like entering Andy Warhol's studio, with the designers' collections incorporating collage, photographs printed on fabric and Pop Art.

Charles Jeffrey, Alex Mullins and Rory Parnell-Mooney are star graduates of Central St Martins College of Arts and Design in London. All three designers' work is edgy combined with a fine attention to detail and tailoring. 

The designers were taught in the Master's fashion program by the late Louise Wilson, whose former students included Alexander McQueen and Jonathan Saunders. The designers' work at the London Showroom offers a great source of inspiration and fresh talent to Paris Fashion Week. 

All three designers' work is edgy combined with a fine attention to detail and tailoring and they produce their collections in the United Kingdom, keeping the tradition of the atelier alive

 

Alex Mullins' artistic collection in London

Showing their collections to potential buyers in the French city they receive feedback from experts who understand what their clients are looking for. 

In London, it's all about promoting the brand, with live fashion shows that are more like art installations.

Paris is where the designers get a taste of reality regarding who their customers are and how the clothes will fit. 

Also, if there is room for improvement to make their creations wearable and ultimately saleable.

The London Showrooms presentation offers a great source of inspiration and fresh British talent to Paris Fashion Week

Charles Jeffrey in Paris with his collection

In Paris, Charles Jeffrey's new collection was ordered first by a Japanese boutique and he also had a visit from Comme Des Garcons' Rei Kawakubo. 

The Scottish designer says Vivienne Westwood and Rei Kawakubo are his main heroines. 

“My collection was actually born out of a club I ran to support my Masters and I was particularly influenced by friends and characters who came to the club,” says Jeffrey. "Not just what they looked like but how they behaved even down to their body language such as twitching hand gestures and mismatched coat buttons."

The influence of club and street culture is one of the recurring themes in London designers' work and this kind of innovation appears to be in their DNA

Charles Jeffrey AW16 show at London Fashion Week 

The designer has translated these into the details of his clothes. 

The influence of club and street culture is one of the recurring themes in London designers' work and this kind of innovation appears to be in their DNA. 

During his internship at Christian Dior, Jeffery could also see the high level of craftsmanship that is possible in haute couture and how this could be incorporated into his own collections.

“My collection was born out of a club I ran, and I was particularly influenced by the friends and characters there,” says Charles Jeffrey

Rory Parnell Mooney at London Showrooms

Irish-born Rory Parnell Mooney says his new collection was inspired by painter Jan Van Duren, who also influenced the direction of early Balenciaga collections with his large-scale paintings of monks and nuns. 

Memories of Rory’s teenage self with lots of angst along with music from that time makes the collection quite personal. 

The designer got his break by being one of three designers selected to show at London Men’s Fashion Week for Topshop's TopMan sponsored event Fashion East. (Charles Jeffrey was also part of the show).



“Music and art are my main inspirations, this season I’m obsessed with Brian Molko from Placebo, known for promoting androgynous female aesthetics in the 90s," he says.

"Topshop nurtures emerging designers via Fashion East and the late Louise Wilson remains a massive influence even now.” 

“Music and art are my main inspirations, this season I’m obsessed with Brian Molko from Placebo and androgynous 90s female aesthetics," Rory Parnell-Mooney says

Rory Parnell-Mooney's new collection in London

Balenciaga's early work and Yohji Yamamoto are key influences for Parnell-Mooney too. 

The designer is more focused on style rather than trends and the process of making the clothes.

“Craft is important, the way things are handmade makes a big difference,” Parnell-Mooney believes. 

"Hand-made work is more interesting and creative and is one of the reasons why young London designers are desirable.”

“Denims are classically finished, and the arty, creative pieces have digitally printed photos onto calico, then I collage them back together,” comments Alex Mullins

Alex Mullins strikes a pose with his

work in Paris

Alex Mullins completed his BA in fashion at Central St Martins, followed by an MA at the Royal College of Art and this is especially evident in his work. 

Later, he also worked for brands including Alexander McQueen and Jeremy Scott before establishing his own label in 2014 with help from the British Fashion Council’s Newgen program. 

His latest collection resembles wearable art: photomontage with collage but with the finish of an atelier. “Denims are classically finished, and the arty, creative pieces have digitally printed photos onto calico, then I collage them back together,” says Mullins.

Creating and producing the work in house ‘atelier’ style is part of the brand's ethos of custom-made design. Mullin's mother taught him how to cut his first jacket as a twelve-year-old, as she was a pattern maker and fashion lecturer herself. 

“Coming from a creative family I was lucky to be able to discuss ideas and art references," Mullins says. "I didn’t realize this was unique growing up in a creative environment and having that support until I was at university.” 

Androgyny and custom-made clothing are the directions which all three designers say are the future trends in men’s fashion 

Alex Mullins AW16 collection 
featuring custom denim

Inspiration for the current AW16 collection stems from the everyday and mundane, such as the time spent waiting for a train or a bus. 

“Boredom is necessary to activate your imagination and encourages movement in yourself in a provocative way,” he says.

Androgyny and custom-made clothing is the direction that all three designers say are the future trends in men’s fashion and they all produce their collections locally in the UK, keeping the tradition of the atelier alive. 

Men's Fashion and the Future: Interview with Sacha Walckhoff

"It is a difficult moment to talk about fashion in Europe because it is very frivolous. But I believe you can still say a lot through fashion. I think there is the possibility to express something really interesting", says Sacha Walckhoff, photographed in Paris by Elodie Dupuis.

Christian Lacroix's Creative Director Sacha Walckhoff talks to Jeanne-Marie Cilento from his Paris atelier about fashion, creativity and the future. Photographs by CG Watkins 

TALL and handsome with an infectious laugh, Christian Lacroix's creative director Sacha Walckhoff brings his ebullient artistic energy to the house's menswear and lifestyle collections. After the eponymous couturier left the house five years ago, Mr Walckhoff has brought a fresh vision to the French brand. He worked closely with Christian Lacroix for 17 years so has a profound understanding of the house's artistic origins.

Sacha Walckhoff & Christian Lacroix during the glory years

Speaking from his Parisian studio, he says: “Today's collections are also very close to Christian Lacroix the man, even if we are not working together anymore. I'm still faithful to the spirit, the origin of the house. People associate Lacroix with very colourful prints. But I think there is another level of the brand which is about an artistic vision.” As a designer, Sacha Walckhoff works on many different projects for both fashion and interior design and brings a very passionate approach to his own creations. “I think everything in life is about what you feel, so feelings for me are very potent,” he says. “They are the foundation of the Lacroix brand too ~ it is all about creating emotions first. Then of course there are colours and prints. But the reason why the house is still alive is because it is built on feelings. I think that is why so many people are attached to Christian Lacroix.”


Dark flowers SS16. Photo: CG Watkins

He says the ideas behind the men's SS16 collections and Nouveaux Mondes home ware are contemporary yet still connected to the history of Lacroix. “I want to express tolerance and being open minded, this is what society should be. But it is very important for me to have an eye on the past and know where you are coming from. You have to know your past to go into the future. This is the theme of the collections this year. We still use the symbols of Lacroix, like flowers which could be quite traditional such as roses and peonies. But we put stripes on them and create a graphic statement and suddenly the flowers seem very modern.

"At Lacroix we have a story and yet we find a way to make it relevant. In the beginning, when I was appointed artistic director five years ago we went through the archives but I didn't want to change the designs otherwise people wouldn't recognise them. But we also realised very quickly that the things we took from the archives were not successful ~ because they were made at a special moment and now the times have changed."


Urban hubris SS16. Photo: CG Watkins

Looking at fashion on the streets, Sacha Walckhoff sees it as increasingly casual. "The problem with casual is that it is not very elegant ~ a very French statement! But you know in Paris in the 14th and 15th arrondissments, I see guys with beautiful suits and girls wearing beautiful dresses, jackets and hats. So the street style can look very good. But today people are lot fatter now than in the past and this is related to why they choose more casual wear."
As far as current trends in fashion, he still sees a slender aesthetic."People are wearing very slim lines, slim outfits and slim trousers, the young generation are still very body conscious."

The men who buy from the Christian Lacroix boutique in Paris are a heterogeneous group of artists, architects and lawyers from 25 years old upwards. "They are looking for something amusing with a good cut and good print with exquisite designs and fabrics. We are close to our clients. I am always trying to make the perfect shirts and suits. Pieces that you are happy to wear every day and then find them again in the next collection.When men find what they love, the right cut of pants or shirt ~ they don't want us to stop!"

Nature rules in the Paris suburbs. Photo: CG Watkins

Today, the fashion world has changed as luxury brands have some of their biggest clientele in Asia not Europe: "They were starving for fashion because of the political situations in their countries. I think what they are going through now is what we went through in the 1960s and 70s. Europeans are not our largest clients anymore. We have other situations that are very difficult here: people are too busy fighting for work, for places to live, really struggling. It is a difficult moment to talk about fashion in Europe because it is very frivolous. But I believe you can still say a lot through fashion. I think you have the possibility to express something interesting and the more that is expressed the better."

But the designer comments that he is surprised that many young designers are not expressing themselves as creatively as in the past with what they wear and design for themselves. "Today, when you look at men's collections that are very trendy, colourful and full of strange shapes ~ it is made for people to talk about and not to be worn. In the 1980s, we were making strange clothing but we were wearing it. We wanted to have originality and if you couldn't find what you wanted we made our own clothing. But now it is different as all of those young guys who are designing crazy outfits don't wear them. They are still wearing jeans and t-shirts as the designer and coming out on to the runway. It is very bizarre to me! It is like they are presenting clothes that they don't want to wear themselves.


Sacha Walckhoff as a young designer in Paris

"We were designing clothes and wearing them because we wanted to really express ourselves. I think fashion is becoming just an image ~ it is not real any more. Truly it is a feeling I have right now that people do not wear what they are designing. We need people who are a bit crazy and creative not only for the runway but also in real life." Mr Walckhoff  has an encyclopedic knowledge of fashion and can explain the history and provenance of a new jacket going back to influences from the Renaissance to David Bowie. But he thinks that the way new designers often just take ideas from the past directly without creating something new is very dull. "I don't think inspiration should be so literal as it is today ~ you need to transform it. I know the history of every piece of fashion. This is why at Lacroix I am always reworking designs from the past ~ but it never looks like the original. This is what is interesting in our world. I think it is a bit boring when you just take something and you reissue it. It is not something I would like to do."

Talking about the power of the fashion image today the designer believes it is more difficult to make an impact because we have visual overload. "We are bombarded by images today with the Internet and social media. It is difficult because you have to edit them all of the time. I am a bit afraid of being insensible to images in the future because there are just too many to filter through your mind. Even when you wake-up there are so many images to digest ~ even before having your coffee." Mr Walkhoff is also concerned

Colour & embroidery SS16. Photo: CG Watkins

about the increasing mechanisation of everyday life that makes us more distant from hand-crafted designs and nature.

"I was talking to [Dutch designer] Marcel Wanders, we were saying the machines will take over ~ they don't need food or rest ~ and one day there will be robots on the runway and robots making the collections and robots buying the clothes. We will be left at our country houses out of it all!" he says laughing. "With the new menswear collection, maybe it is about the fact that in an increasingly mechanised world nature is still much stronger than anything man can create. Maybe it is something unconscious trying to say that nature will always win ~ that is really the theme of this menswear collection."

Working with designer Jose Gandia, head of Lacroix's Studio Homme, on the collection, Sacha Walckhoff wanted to design classic clothes with a young and modern twist. There are very well cut suits in beautiful fabrics with linings made out of silk as well as prints and embroideries. All of the sweaters are from cotton so they are very breathable with others in Jacquard with embroidery. "The house is known for its mix and match, combining different things like prints, flowers, bright colours such as fuschia that in the end really work," says Mr Gandia. "This season we found the colours of Paris suburbs interesting, you feel like you could almost be in LA. It was very nice to shoot there."


Industrial Paris SS16. Photo: CG Watkins

For the collection's photo shoot, nature and the city were big inspirations. Mr Walckoff worked with photographer CG Watkins to shoot the pictures in the suburbs of Paris. “Nature is always stronger than man-made cities ~ here in the Parisian suburbs even though the plants grow in small spaces and on balconies ~ there is still a spirit of wildness. So we wanted to have the pictures taken in places which were quite built up but at the same time nature still managed to grow there." The photographer, who grew up in Australia, was very attracted to the idea of going to the outer suburbs in Paris to shoot. "It was really interesting and it was so busy ~ I didn't think the suburbs were so busy," Sacha Walckhoff says. "We went to a squat and saw this whole universe of people who are free and living with a certain wildness. They are constructing a new way of life. In some ways, it is a spirit that for me is quite close to what Lacroix is all about.The collection is based on both human nature and the wilderness which is coming out in the cities ~ despite the concrete."

Mr Walckhoff say the menswear collection expresses his vision of Lacroix. "Collaborating with CG Watkins who is British but raised in Australia we talked a lot about the dessert. You can feel it in all of his images. It is always good to have a link with the young photographers and the young magazines because it is the kind of customer we want to share the collection with. We have a lot of customers who are faithful to the brand. But it is also important to be connected to the young generation ~ it is a great way to do it working with young photographers."


Christian Lacroix's Nouveaux Mondes collection

The first collection of Christian Lacroix lifestyle was created in 2011. Mr Walckhoff is now responsible for overseeing the design of the menswear collections, eye wear, sunglasses lines, scarves and leather goods collections as well as home décor. The lifestyle and home wares collections have been very successful along with the menswear, but the creative director doesn't rule out a return to designing women's fashion again in the future.

Sacha Walckhoff has a special way of working artistically with his team at Lacroix. Designer Jose Gandia says: "It is a real pleasure working with Sacha as each season I discover something fresh as he presents a new book, a new artist for our inspiration. We share ideas then we work out what we want. We talk about the exhibitions we have seen and how that inspires us."

As artistic director, Sacha Walckhoff makes a presentation to his team twice a year and then the other designers have an input for specific collections. "Sometimes they propose things that make the designs richer," he says. "I like to have a creative dialogue with my colleagues when I am working ~ I feed them but they also need to feed me. I need interaction, this is my way of working. If I don't like something I just say it. But I love it when an idea comes from the studio and makes the concept deeper and more interesting. I welcome new ideas while keeping the vision of Christian Lacroix."