Unique Visions of Haute Couture: Adeline Andre & Bowie Wong in Paris

One of French couturier Adeline Andre's brilliantly hued and fluid designs in Paris. Cover picture and all photographs by Elli Ioannou

Adeline André and Bowie Wong are fashion designers at different places in their careers with contrasting aesthetics, yet both couturiers share a determination to maintain a singularly distinctive vision of haute couture, writes our special Paris correspondent Elli Ioannou

Bowie Wong's couture AW16/17 show in Paris 

FRENCH couturier Adeline Andre is a long established member of Parisan fashion while Hong Kong-born, Australian Bowie Wong started showing his collections in Paris just two years ago. Adeline André started out being taught by Salvador Dali and then working as an assistant designer for the House of Christian Dior. Bowie Wong originally studied design in Japan and costume design in Canada, then worked on major international theatrical productions before making the move to fashion.

Adeline André created a successful career as a haute-couture designer in Paris by opening her own fashion house. She has refined her skills and craftsmanship over four decades, pioneering and patenting the ‘three sleeve-hole’ garment, selecting locations for presentations for her collections in unique spaces before it became fashionable, and creating an intimate atmosphere with her models sometimes mingling among the guests.

For last month's Autumn/Winter 2016-17 collection in Paris,

 Diaphanous gowns at Adeline Andre 

Adeline André's show opened with lilting classical music and graceful, womanly models including the  silver-haired Axelle Doue, walking the runway in an austere space at the Palais de Tokyo. The models glided around the square catwalk slowly, pausing and posing as if for a fashion shoot for Richard Avedon and David Bailey. The collection had her signature minimalist aesthetic with ethereal, elegant and fluid lines. There were Grecian goddess-like shapes and flowing organza in fuchsia pinks, pastels, ice mint and silver. Indicative of an established brand no longer having to prove itself, with a loyal clientele, the Adeline André presentation re-affirms the designer’s calibre in haute couture with her consistent and authentic vision that ensures the longevity of her fashion house. Her work seems to say simply "this is who I am".

French couturier Adeline Andre after her AW16/17 show

André's career in couture began with her own label in the 1980s, following an illustrious period of training in the 1970s. The couturier was born in Bangui, French Equatorial Africa but has spent her adult life in Paris.

At the start of her career she wanted to be a fashion photographer and went to London before returning to the French capital to study fashion. During this period she went to the Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne and took fine art lessons from Dali, preparing for her career in fashion.



 Ethereal ensembles in the new collection 

After graduating, Adeline André entered Christian Dior’s fashion house in 1970 as the assistant of Marc Bohan for the haute couture line. Three years later she started working for Louis Feraud, and afterwards for Castelbajac. In 1981 she formed the House Adeline André and registered her most famous fashion innovation, the "three sleeve-hole," now in collections at the French Fashion Museum, Palais Galliera in Paris, the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York and the Fashion and Design Museum in Lisbon. By the 1990s, André had became an invited member of the Syndicate Chamber of Parisian Haute Couture before becoming a permanent member.

Adeline André participates in gallery and museum exhibitions and has also designed costumes for ballet, opera and theatre. Her career has had many highpoints, including her dress #18 from her Autumn/Winter 1997/98 Couture collection being acquired by the French government as a work of art.

Australian couturier Bowie Wong after his catwalk show

Bowie Wong came to haute couture from another direction. The foundation and influence of Wong’s aesthetic is costume and theatre design. And for his latest presentation for the AW16/17 collection, as a guest of the Syndicate Chamber of Paris Couture, this was very apparent in its dark-hued drama. Wong’s theatrical influences started early as he grew up the son of a Chinese opera singer surrounded by the accoutrements of the stage. As a teenager Wong studied design in Japan before going on to stage and costume design in Canada. While finishing his degree in Canada, he was offered contracts on major theatre productions and international shows including The Paul McCartney World Tour and productions of the musicals Cats and Les Misérables.

Bold forms and shapes at Bowie Wong 

By 1997, Bowie Wong had moved to Sydney where he spent three years, deciding fashion was what he wanted to focus on. He launched his first complete collection and began to establish himself as a local Australian brand. Ten years later, Wong began to produce an annual couture collection of custom-made dresses and  evening gowns which was shown at Australian Fashion Week and dressed high-profile singers and celebrities. Two years ago, Wong left the runways of Australian fashion week to show among the top haute couture designers in Paris. This is his fifth collection shown in the French capital as a guest designer at Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week.
He has said that couturier Elie Saab has been the mentor that encouraged him to branch out from his original Bowie brand in 2011, to fully express himself as a designer. Each collection symbolises a new transformation.  “Throughout my career, I have worked towards becoming myself,” he has said. “My designs, nowadays, embody who I am more than what I was doing before.”

Bowie Wong's exuberant yet all black couture collection

His latest collection in Paris at the grand and elegant Peninsula Hotel, opened with nocturnal sounds that hinted at the theme of the all-black show entitled Eclipse. Models with blowsy and bouffant Elizabethan-style hair by Kevin Murphy combined with pale make-up came down the runway with folkloric style leather-clad shoes. The models seemed like birds with exotic, ruffled plumage. There were leather ensembles of tops and layered skirts, alongside elliptical-shaped dresses using fabric constructed to appear like a large black rose. The atmosphere of the collection suggested 18th Century Valkyries with bold shapes and big hair.

According to Robert Greene, author of Mastery: “In order to master a field, you must love the subject and feel a profound connection to it”. This captures the ethos of Adeline André and Bowie Wong and the particular and personal designs they express in each of their evocative collections.

Tap on photographs for a full-screen slideshow to see more of Adeline André & Bowie Wong's collections 

Photographers wait for the Bowie Wong runway show to begin at Paris's Peninsula Hotel

Guests start arriving at Bowie Wong's Autumn/Winter 2016-17 show in Paris 

Exuberant forms yet a uniformly black colour palette at Bowie Wong

Evocative, sculptural shapes and whumsical shoes at Bowie Wong 

One of the outstanding pieces of three dimensional designs in the haute couture collection of Bowie Wong

Fluid black pieces contrasted with more bulbous confections in the new couture collection 

Models wearing the Eclipse collection presented in Paris by Bowie Wong

Both opaque and gleaming fabrics enhanced Wong's black palette 

A model poses after the runway show of Bowie Wong at the Peninsula Hotel

Sleek hair and red lips were a dramatic contrast to Adeline Andre's floating chiffon creations

An elegant, architectural sandal made the perfect counterpoint to Adeline Andre's long gowns

Blocks of colour made strong statements that were softened by fluid lines 

The combination of the pragmatic and the poetic at Adeline Andre gave her collection a wearability from morning to evening

Fuchsia Pink and Pillar Box Red worked surpisingly well together in the new collection

 Couturier Adeline Andre talking after her runway show at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris

Another unusual hue that formed part of Adeline Andre's soft, pastel palette

The flowing, abstract lines of one of Adeline Andre's long creations that could reflect her artistic training with Salavador Dali

The subtle, evanescent hues of this mauve evening dress seem to capture the French couturier's mastery of cut and colour

Fluidty and minimalism have long been a signature of Adeline Andre's work 

 The models slowly moving along the runway also stopped for photographers as part of the show

The open-toed shows in silver were an effective foil to the floating dresses

 Womanly models were a highlight of Adeline Andre's shows and showed her avant-garde vision

One of the three-hole sleeve designs that Adeline Andre patented in the 1980s

The beautiful, silver haired Axel Doue who featured in the Adeline Andre show

Guests waiting before Adeline Andre's haute couture show in Paris for AW16/17

The couturier Adeline Andre at the finale of her show in Paris 

 Models in the contrasting bold colours and pastel, diaphanous gowns leave the runway at the end of Adeline Andre's show in Paris

The Rise of Ralph & Russo in the World of Haute Couture

A lavish evening gown at Ralph & Russo's Paris Autumn/Winter 2016-17 collection. Cover picture and all photographs by Elli Ioannou 

One of the highlights of last month's Paris Haute Couture Week was the beautiful collection by London-based Australian duo Ralph & Russo. Just two years ago, they became the first British-based couturiers in a century to show collections in the French capital. Our special correspondent Elli Ioannou looks at Tamara Ralph and Michael Russo's meteoric rise in the world of global high fashion

A finely embroidered dress looking stately in Paris

FANTASY worlds, make believe and daydreams are not realms for children only. Behavioural psychologists from Freud to Jung encourage adults to tap into their inner child, feeding their imagination with play and creativity. Like a modern day Hans Christian Andersen fable, Ralph & Russo's new collection was romantic and full of mystery. A Utopian fantasy, their world of blossoms, butterflies, flora and fauna flourish in harmony. As guests were seated at their latest Paris show, including Lil Kim, Jordan Dunn, Petra Nemcova, Sonam Kapoor and Adriana Lima in the front row, visual hints of what was to come in the collection could be seen in the design of the runway entrance itself. Framed by an Art Deco arch with panels of Midnight Blue floral panels it was completed by an angled mirror ceiling that added a surrealist effect with reflections of the models on the catwalk.



Creative director Tamara Ralph & CEO Michael Russo

Based in London, Ralph & Russo is the only British fashion house to be elected by the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture to show its collection on the official schedule at Paris Haute Couture Week. Didier Grumbarch, the Chambre Syndicale’s former president, said they have a ‘savoire faire’ which many more established couture houses have lost. It was in January 2014 that Ralph & Russo became the first British-based couture company in 100 years to show its collections on the Paris Couture Week schedule.

One half of the label is Australian-born Creative Director Tamara Ralph while the other is her partner CEO, Michael Russo. Ralph says she always knew that she wanted to be part of the world of haute couture as her mother and grandmother were both couturiers for society ladies in Sydney. When Ralph was 10 years old they began to teach her about sewing, two years later she was making clothes for herself and friends. By the time she was 15 years old, Ralph was selling her designs to private clients and independent boutiques in Australia. She then went on to study at the Whitehouse Institute of Design in Sydney before moving to London and establishing the house of Ralph & Russo. It all started when Tamara Ralph first met Michael Russo by chance in London in 2003 when she was on holiday and he was working as a financial consultant. They fell in love and after a long distance relationship for a year, he bought her a ticket back to London and she began designing and making clothes on a small scale in the British capital.

Jaunty hats are a key part of the A/W16-17 collection

Three years later the pair created Ralph & Russo and in less than 10 years it has grown into a global high fashion brand. Today, their London atelier has a hundred skilled artisans including embroiderers, tailors and designers who work in toile, chiffon, velvet and silk. The size of the atelier is remarkable in Britain and is even larger than one of the world's top haute couture houses: Chanel has an atelier of around seventy artisans. Ralph & Russo have built up a client list with more than 600 London-made haute couture garments that can cost up to $500,000. A large percentage of their work is bridal and Tamara Ralph says many of the gowns are made for royal weddings. Other high profile clients include film stars and famous entertainers: Angelina Jolie met Queen Elizabeth and received her honorary damehood in a custom-made grey Ralph & Russo suit, Beyoncé has worn costumes designed by them on tour and Gwyneth Paltrow wore a slim pink, one-shouldered dress finished with a large rosette for the Oscars.



A fluid Seventies aesthetic ran through the Paris show

Ralph & Russo have presented six shows on the official Paris couture schedule over three years and now could receive an official ­appellation from the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture. This would make them Australia's first haute couturiers. Known for their dedication to true couture, Ralph & Russo are gently pushing boundaries in their design direction with innovative new techniques, including a new fabric made by fusing silk and tulle. For their latest collection in Paris, styles, forms and hues are inspired by a distinctly Seventies, British aesthetic but with references to Ralph's favourite1950s silhouette. This was further accentuated by over sized hats from the same period and presented alongside soft, sexy and feline layers of flowing floor-length evening gowns and skirts. A variety of the other dresses also had delicate embroidery on sheer fabric and feathers and lace.

Blossoms & flower motifs on a 70s style coat

One of Tamara Ralph's key inspirations are gardens and the Autumn-Winter 2016-17 collection included peonies, tulips, and roses plus hand-painted blooms, embroidered crystals, glass beads, pearls and appliqués of petal-shaped feathers and mink pompoms. The wilderness part of the garden aesthetic included laser-cut butterflies and metallic embroidered dragonflies. The flower-power theme continued with blossoms and other floral motifs that were rendered via silk 3-D cut outs and beading. The volumes vary from billowing silk chiffon gowns and capes to sheer tulle bodysuits and silk flared skirts to shift dresses. There was an old world Hollywood glamour to it as well with pink tulle gowns with plunging necklines, silk organza skirts and tops embroidered with golden thread. “In general, we wanted a more modern ’70s feel, so we made everything lighter with more of a relaxed vibe, with all of those elements we love from the 70s but done in a very chic way,” Ralph said after the Paris show.

Thigh high slits exposed Ralph & Russo's signature luxe shoes and boots with their fine and intricate detailing. Accessories have become an increasingly important part of the collections and are more accessible than the custom-designed dresses. This season they created hats, including wide-brimmed styles and helmet styles that clung close to the head. The hats along with the collection of shoes and handbag gives everyone the chance to have a piece of Ralph & Russo, Michael Russo said after the runway collection.



Shanina Shaik closes the Paris show

The Paris show ended with the haute-couture tradition of the spectacular wedding gown. A long visual pause of darkness with just a shaft of icy blue light was the precursor to the finale. Some guests even stood up to leave, thinking the show was over. Then a dramatic silhouette showing an exquisite bridal gown appeared and Australian model Shanina Shaik closed the show in a dress embroidered with thousands of tiny beads in a floral pattern with a sweetheart neckline. The wedding dress was finished by a flowing cape, also embroidered with organza flowers, and a white floral headpiece. Shaik slowly walked down the runway, pausing and posing.With one last seductive turn, she exited to a cacophony of enthusiastic clapping and shouts of  'Bravo!' ~ an endorsement of Ralph & Russo's graceful aesthetic celebrating beauty and femininity.

Tap photographs for full-screen slideshow

Australian designer Tamara Walsh and Michael Russo after the presentation of their collection in Paris 

 Australian model Shanina Shaik wears the lacy bridal gown at the finale of the Ralph & Russo show

Body-hugging lace and embroidered dresses and capes featured in the collection

Silvery embroidery and hats added a glamourous vibe to the Seventies ethos

 Brilliant floral designs and finely detailed handbags created a feminine collection

Dramatic hats add to Ralph & Russo collection of accessories line

Wide-brimmed hats and full sleeves with cut-outs continued the 1970s theme

 Silvery butterflies add another layer of refined decoration to this flowery dress

Flowers, butterflies, leaves and feathers all show how Tamara Ralph was inspired by a lush garden 

 Hand-painted blooms, crystals and pearls created the richness of the collection

Pith-shaped hats recall Tamara Ralph's signature 1950s silhouettes

Ralph & Russo's London atelier has a hundred artisans that work on their embroidered creations 

 A model leaves the Paris runway framed by lustrous flowers and mirrors above that the reflect the runway