Riccardo Tisci, in his first season of couture since eschewing a formal runway show in favor of an intimate presentation format, delivered a stellar “Top 10” collection inspired by Mexican artist Frida Kahlo (a Tisci obsession) at a gilded Place Vendôme apartment that was best described as a stellar jewel.
The dramatics of a runway show may have been forgotten, but the attention to design and detail clearly were not. In the salons, Tisci established three distinct vignettes: Porcelain, Blush and Gold. The looks were hung from a metal framework, their metallic sheens glowing against the dark wood panelling. One gown alone, made of triple-layered silk, was the result of 1,600 hours of hand embroidery.
Kahlo, who turned 103 on the same day of his show, paid tribute to the iconic artist with subtle touches here and there. Bodysuit? It came via two layers of lace re-embroidered onto silk tulle in the outline of a skeleton. My favorite? The gown embellished with porcelain beads “imprisoned” in tiny cages of silk tulle, or fashioned from lace which had been “dipped” in porcelain to create the stiff appearance of china.
What a wonderful, perfectly edited presentation! It’s amazing how Tisci can turn the macabre into something elegant and vice versa; kind of a literal (and fabulous) interpretation of a “corpse bride”.