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The eccentric Dutch label produced another enthralling presentation for a collection where, textured materials and fabrics such as padded leather, fake furs, feathers and oversized knits came in metallic finishes and an array of bright colours were used to create looks that interrogated fashion by exaggerating elements of what, on the surface, were ordinary clothes. Successful examples of this approach included biker jackets that had their dimensions extended in different angularities, jackets that lost their original shape and became oversized by adding numerous feathers, and 1950s-inspired skirts infused with extra volume created by cleverly cutting and layering thick wools.

At a time when fashion designers are under pressure from investors excessively concerned with business profitability, MaryMe-JimmyPaul’s celebration of fashion as an elevating art form reminds us that it’s only because of talented designers’ intelligence, creativity and hard work that the global landscapes of fashion are richer and more meaningful. And for that reason alone, their runway show on 25 January 2014 might have been the most important event of the latest edition of Amsterdam Fashion Week.

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In a small but perfectly edited womenswear range, Laport (a graduate from the Dutch Royal Academy of Art) explored how highly structured shapes and conventional feminine tropes can be used to engender successful praise of high fashion. If his looks started with tailored pants and fitted tops as a way to illustrate how the rigidity of slim cuts serves to highlight the natural curves and lines of the body, they evolved to include laboriously structured pleating and bulbous shapes that exploded from the waist or the chest in different directions to create innovative (and yet very feminine) silhouettes. Nevertheless, and amidst his broken and asymmetric geometries, Laport imbued the collection with dotted floral embroideries that anchored femininity to conventional thinking while subtly questioning the role of embellishment.

Added to a diverse colour palette that comprised neutral blacks and whites contrasted with vivid oranges, yellows and shades of green, this was a capsule collection that, in its curated apparent simplicity, revealed that David Laport is a young designer that the fashion industry should watch for.

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If the collection incorporates conceptual and physical elements from faraway countries such as rare skins, geological gems, the animal geoglyph motifs from the Nazca Lines, and traditional Peruvian needle-punched horizontal stripes, the results couldn’t be more sophisticated: silhouettes are slim and clean silhouettes, garments are crafted from noble materials, and an array of stylish accessories complements the looks.
Luxurious fabrics are ubiquitous throughout the collection and include mohair and huarizo (an alpaca-llama crossbreed) in suiting; double-faced vicuña in robes; and cashmere (sometimes blended with silk) in evening double-breasted overcoats, reversible coats, blousons and gloves, or in hand-knitted strips that resemble fur. In addition, dégradé silk is used for evening suits worn over micro-checked and striped shirts, while lounge pants, T-shirts and sweatshirts feature artisan crochet stitch detailing; and a range of scarves made from silk twill incorporate subtle patterns such as chevrons, stripes, and herringbone.

As has become expected of Louis Vuitton, opulent and textured furs and leathers abound: shearling panels are used in a reversible zip-up sweater, chinchilla-lined silk is detailed with heat-sealed zippers and seams, and a windbreaker made from python skin is finished with a calf-leather hood. Equally, accessories and footwear incorporate innovatively treated and patterned skins: a Derby city shoe comes in silver-mirrored calfskin, grained nubuck or crocodile; a city ankle boot-hybrid uses glazed calf with a padded nappa ankle; and rubberized leather is used for the trimming of bags, a predominant accessory offered in a comprehensive range that includes holdalls, totes, messengers, trolley bags, duffles, folios and hybrid backpacks.

And confirming the desirable social status that Louis Vuitton commands, the collection comprises more economical objects that stress the brand’s identity in the form of accessories and jewellery pieces: every look in the collection comes with sunglasses with coloured and mirrored lenses; whereas necklaces, rings, and lapel pins inspired by South-American geology incorporate gems and stones such as crystal, quartz, amethyst, ionite, agate and jasper.

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Drawing inspiration from an exhibition of photographs taken by Ragnar Axelsson that depicted how humans endure harsh climates and living standards with defiant endurance and stoicism, Raeburn created a range of clothes and accessories that combined contrasting textures of different weight and shape capable of fighting the coldest temperatures. This anchoring concept was achieved with remarkable elegance by bringing together the rugged outdoors and military life with the sophistication of urbane realms in the colour palette used, the fabrics chosen and the silhouettes created.
Key garments that illustrate Christopher Raeburn’s creative principle of fusing utilitarianism with style include outerwear pieces made with bespoke British Millerian waxed cotton or crafted from genuine sheepskin Siberian Officers coats, and lightweight parkas made from vintage German military sleeping bags. When not deconstructing or reusing existing materials, Raeburn still used them for inspiration, as it was evident in the parkas with contrasting sleeves inspired by the lining of British military coats, in the bomber jackets that evoked the flight jackets worn by military pilots or in the cinched lightweight jackets and coats inspired by the parkas worn by artic explorers.

The collection also demonstrated a clever balance of diverse textures and shapes, with heavy outerwear layered with knitwear and lighter garments, geometrically padded overcoats that created ingeniously stylish patterns and bulbous silhouettes, and innovative rubberised wool used to make sweaters and jackets. Throughout, motifs such the cut-out shadow of a Polar bear and screen-printed constellation maps evoked nature and organic landscapes, a notion also highlighted by the colour palette adopted that fused strong burnt orange and navy with muted shades of grey and olive tones.

The results of Raeburn’s ongoing collaboration with The Woolmark Company were also evident with great success in the intarsia knitwear pieces and in the heavy colour-block wool sweaters, while the partnership with Japanese company Porter resulted in appealing rucksacks, pocket bags and holdalls.

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Designer Woo Young Mi adopted Paris as her sartorial home and the location for her eponymous label after showing a collection there in 2002, and following a successful career in Seoul developed initially on her own and later in collaboration with her sister Woo Jang Hee. In just over a decade, Wooyoungmi garnered a series of important accolades within the international fashion industry, including being made a full member of the French fashion association La Chambre Syndicale in 2011, and developing a network of 46 prestigious retailers that sell their creations in 17 countries spread across the globe.

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