Opinions were divided when at the beginning of January it was announced that Hussein Chalayan was going to be hired as the demi-couture designer for Vionnet, the fashion house bought by Kazakhstan-born socialite and entrepreneur Goga Ashkenazi in November 2012.
Vionnet's collections so far received mixed reviews and, despite the brand appeared every now and then on the red carpet, the label remained a luxury toy in the hands of a billionaire businesswoman.
Chalayan brought a wind of change at Vionnet: though her signature principles - ethereal fabrics, draped motifs and bias cut - were still much present, Chalayan turned away from her archives to emphasise an architectural and industrial approach through elements such as spiral staircases and electric wires.
The spiralling theme appeared in the pale layered bias-cut organza dresses with concentric laser cut outs around the hip and leg area that opened the show and that made many critics sitting in the audience wish they had an X-ray machine that revealed where the seams may have been.
Liquid pleated desses were anchored to a collar-cum-harness that looked a bit like a coral, while column gowns with stiff sleeves jutting out embodied the architectural connection.
The printed and embroidered motifs taken from patternmakers' toiles called indeed to mind blueprints and technical drawings in an architect's studio. Necklaces and belts looked like transparent plastic tubes in which coloured electrical wires passed.
The vision for this collection of demi-couture (so called because it requires only one fitting and is priced less than pure haute couture) wasn't always too clear, but it was less shambolic than when Ashkenazi tried to design the collections by herself.
While Vionnet may be timidly looking forward, it remains legitimate to ask if in future we will see an even more coherent architectural and industrial approach to couture. After all, while leaving behind excessive amounts of embellishments and decorative patterns may be a bit too austere, there is a need to cleanse our vision in favour of more sober and less extravagant pieces.
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