She is an elusive character, an ever-changing persona of questionable motive and undeniable fantasy. She is Amber, the fictional muse of the Arnhem Mode Biennale 2011 – an abstract personification of fashion in all it’s forms.
Coercing the viewer to question fashion as artistic expression, the Biennale’s curator JOFF stripped fashion back to it’s most fundamental elements for this large-scale exhibition. From its atmospheres (film, photography, sound & smell), to its tools (hair, makeup, shoes & accessories), the exhibition is a whimsical journey through fashion, that finally arrives at the overall ‘visions’ of many international designers.
Many of the most impressive installations came from within Coccodrillo’s stable of designers, including three silhouettes from the MAISON MARTIN MARGIELA‘s artisanal collections (including the ‘Kite Dress’, above) simply posed on pedestals – allowing the meticulous handwork to speak for itself.
A.F. VANDEVORST moulded 250kg of wax into the form of a sleeping girl, echoing the show concept of their 1999 ‘Individuals’ collection. An Vandevorst lit the candle for the first time on Tuesday, and it will burn for the entire duration of the Biennale (until July 3rd).
Belgian boots… and Balenciaga
Paris has offered a sublime selection of covetable winter footwear in these heady days of prét-à-porter shows for Fall Winter 2011-12.
From our own Antwerp designers, DRIES VAN NOTEN delivered his expert take on an ankle boot (above), prepped in exotic python skin sitting on a transparent acrylic heel. At ANN DEMEULEMEESTER, a streamlined block wedge returned from SS11 (this time laced up the ankle or toe), and A.F. VANDEVORST‘s Philip Arickx & An Vandevorst proposed a strapped & buckled boot perched upon a razor-thin wedge. The MAISON MARTIN MARGIELA lifted the foot off the sole completely, covering some pairs entirely with mesh stockings.
A true highlight arrived upon the tiled floors of the Hôtel Crillon on Thursday morning, where Nicholas Ghesquiere dreamed up these delightful roccoco stilettos for BALENCIAGA (below). Severe in both their height and pointed toe, their structure was softened by the curlicues that snaked across the ankle or buckles in snakeskin down the foot.
It seems footwear has evolved from the high-impact platform ‘statement’ shoes of the recent past, returning to a more artistic & feminine sphere. No longer pre-occupied with aggressive, over-designed heels, designers seem to have softened – once again crafting feminine and unusual objets d’art for the feet. Coccodrillo approves.
Two days before Coccodrillo kicks off with our 4th edition of the Coup d’Etalage series, we present a snapshot of the previous three events, in which designers stage their ‘coup’ upon the windows of the Coccodrillo stores in Antwerp’s Schuttershofstraat.
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A Shoe In: At Margiela, the girls clomped down the runway in a trompe l’oeil pump & boot with a seemingly ‘melting’ last (above), as well as a block-heeled boot that rose to the knee almost from the point of the toe.