Monastic Yet Maniacal: Thimister S/S12

My Paris Fashion Week began in the Marais with the medieval, monastic, macabre and maniacal Thimister collection entitled "The Conformist" by dutch designer, Josephus Melchior Thimister. Personally inviting us to his Spring/Summer 2012 show, Josephus requested "wash your hair well before attending". No one checked us at the door, but the odd request only added to the ethereally lit and mysteriously heavy air of the Garage Turenne. Beginning in summery, lightweight whites and ending in black and earthy browns, models strode out of a medieval cloister down the modern, industrial runway in shredded, gauzy ensembles cinched with heavy leather corset-like belts with multi-closures and pouches.

Outside of the cloistral, natural feel of the show, my thoughts first arrived at the macabre and maniacal notes throughout the collection. The repetitive dissonance of the soundtrack matched with the aggressive violins and shrieking woman, allowed for an intensely eerie ambience that lingered throughout the show's run. The first look out set the mood and reminded me of the opening scene of John Doyle's 2005 Broadway revival of Sweeney Todd where, as The New York Time's Theater Review described it, "the show begins with a wheyfaced young man in a straightjacket, surrounded by people in institutional white coats. He has the numbed look of someone who has seen the unspeakable." Thimister's own 'wheyfaced' model, in a diaphanous cream dress with a straightjacket-like corset belt, drifted down the runway with that same horrifically vacant look. The whited out makeup used on the models paired with the snug caps worn only accentuated the chilling macabre atmosphere.

Pictures from the show after the jump.

Final Run

Slowly but surely fashion show reviews from Paris Fashion Week will be showing up here so keep a look out!
xx, Q.

[credit: style.com ]