Set Fire To The Runway: On Aura Tout Vu S/S 2012

Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week was set aflame as the phoenix of On Aura Tout Vu rose from the ashes and descended upon us at Garage Turenne. On January 25, 2012, the Bulgarian designer duo Livia S. Stoianova and Yassen Samouilov presented their Spring-Summer Couture 2012 collection, 'High Light Fire'. The collection transcended its theme and heated the audience with incredible energy. Models were the quinntessential femmes fatales in garments blazing with blue, orange, and red flames, gleaming with thousands of Swarovski Elements crystals, and sizzling with high-drama silhouettes. We were lit up, watching a model gracefully walk the runway in a dress reminiscent of a billow of smoke, but we were dazzled when the next dress emerged from backstage literally billowing smoke. At this moment, the magnificence and genius of this collection was unmistakable. The model, also fully aware, broke character, and gave a gracious nod and humble smile knowing she was wearing an epic garment. Applause joined the epic soundtrack and then became cheers, giving me chills and highlighting the chaleureux mood of the show. 

Me and Camille at the after party
Credit: Ko Kok

When asked about the theme, 'High Light Fire', Samouilov explained the collection "is a reaction to the idea of the crisis... when all values go up in smoke. The crisis will end up coming... we need to set a fire then, so that things move... and that everyone does so at their own level." The duo told Le Monde, "the old world is a blaze, but we can rise from the ashes".

See pictures from the show and after party after the jump.

Fashion, Future, Fournié: Paris Couture Spring 2012

Fashion is ever changing, and Haute Couture is “the best laboratory [to experiment in] for fashion design”. Parisian designer, Julien Fournié, chose to enter the world of custom fitted garments not only because of the tradition of couture lying in Paris’ history, but also because of its role in the changes of fashion and his strong belief in its future. On January 24, 2012, Fournié presented his Spring-Summer 2012 couture collection, Première Extase, at the Showcase as a membre invité by the Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne. 

Melissa of Prête-Moi Paris! and me at the show.
© Julien Fournié

This young designer is fashion-forward, maybe even ahead of our time. While working on his collection, he collaborated with Fashion Lab, created by Dassault Systèmes, a technology incubator which enables the collection design process to transform its 2D aspects into 3D, allowing the exploration of line within the designs. “Thanks to an original online digital library, [designers can] investigate materials to visualize, study, improve a virtual prototype before they make the real-life… piece, accelerating and enhancing thus [the] creative process before they get to work on the real-life mannequin”. With such advances in the design process, “codes of Haute Couture are being redefined for generations to come”. Considering the ‘trickle down theory’ of fashion, eventually standardized sizing may not be necessary, made-to-measure garments could be more readily available at lower costs.

His collaboration with Fashion Lab is a reflection of his belief in the future of fashion and how “this field of excellence will develop” especially if it continues to include future technological improvements. Fournié and Fashion Lab worked on reproducing fabrics’ would-be reactions, using digital tools. A few kinks need to be worked out though in regards to the custom fit of the garments, which became apparent with the tugging of several hemlines.

All in all, the end result of this technological partnership birthed a line of youthful, vibrant, tropical looks from the ‘Garden of Earthly Delights’ 2.0. To the soundtrack of a thunderstorm, Fournié’s ethereal beings guided us through a rainforest. Some dresses resembled hibiscus flowers with pleated, undulating yellow and pink floral structures blooming from the shoulder and wrapping around the body. Others sprouted plastic fringe that reinforced the rainstorm soundtrack with every swish of the hip.

See photos from the show after the jump.