BEAUTY: Clothing--Ann Demeulemeester

When Ann Demeulemeester (previously here) left her own house in 2013, the question was would her sartorial vision continue? Luckily, her successor, creative director Sébastien Meunier has kept the DNA of the house pretty much intact. No surprise there since he had designed the men's collection under Demeulemeester since 2010. And he has kept the original vision alive in wonderfully sweeping, Romantic collections that reference past time periods when clothing was more intricate and well-made.

For the house's FW '20-'21 collection at Paris Fashion Week, Meunier looked at the ballet "L'Après-midi d'un faune" ("The Afternoon of a Faun") by legendary dancer Vaslav Nijinsky, and in particular the costumes which were designed by the painter Léon Bakst. Mixing early to late 19th century garments with a sort of Neo-Classical idea recalls the original source material beautifully. Tights, lace, sheer tops, climbing vine-like jewelry (like the leafy vine wrapping around Nijinsky's costume), and of course shearling and hair-on-hide to represent the fur of the faun are the right elements to tell the story. Additional elements like metallic and mother-of-pearl velvet, and a treated leather that looks like the top of a well-broiled crème brulée add a layer of luxury. And in look number #28, Meunier finally got to the piebald tights worn by Nijinsky when he danced the role.

Nijinsky in photos from the 1912 debut production:

https://www.anndemeulemeester.com/

BEAUTY: Clothing--Rick Owens

It is fascinating when designers take an inspiration that is unexpected for them and infuse their own sensibility with it. There are designers who interpret their inspiration, and the best example of that would be John Galliano when he was designing, but Rick Owens' dedication to his own singular vision is, admirably, unwavering. So when Owens takes on a rather, um, "high brow" inspiration like Nijinsky's ballet "Afternoon of a Faun" which Nijinsky choreographed and danced for the Ballet Russes in 1912, Owens does not make his work fit the inspiration, he makes the inspiration fit into his work. His signature tunics and highly futuristic simplified garments reference the ballet by using color blocks. His palette this season ventures into unfamiliar territory for Owens, with pale dusty shades reminiscent of the set and costume design for the ballet. He even painted his models' entire bodies those colors, mimicking not only the palette but the full body suit Nijinsky wore as the faun. There were also references to the scarf left behind by the faun's love interest (which he masturbates on at the end of the ballet) in the fluttering pieces attached to shirts. Models also sported silver boots tipped with wings...or horns?

The box-like nature of the collection echoes the angular, geometric nature of Nijinsky's original choreography which in many ways resembled Egyptian hieroglyphics. The collection taken as a whole (and without knowing the inspiration) is possibly one of the most "alien" looking Owens has ever created.

http://www.rickowens.eu/