Designer forced to use fabrics at hand for Paris couture week due to lockdown

Alexis Mabille's collection. Picture: Instragram

Alexis Mabille's collection. Picture: Instragram

Published Jul 8, 2020

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Confronted with problems in fabric

deliveries and supplier closures during France's coronavirus

lockdown, fashion designer Alexis Mabille had to improvise to

salvage his next collection, turning to materials he had to

hand.

Like peers unveiling their creations at Paris's Haute

Couture showcase this week - an online-only format - Mabille

began confectioning his looks before restrictions on movement in

much of Europe were lifted.

That derailed everything from the availability of

made-to-order embroideries to the process of casting models who

usually fly around the world for fittings, but provided

couturiers with novel forms of inspiration too.

"I worked in the opposite direction - instead of working on

the design, the material and the colour, I started from the

colour of the fabric and then the collection," Mabille told

Reuters, adding that he had sought to project a "bright view on

things" with dresses that ranged from vivid purple to yellow and

shimmering animal-style prints.

View this post on Instagram

Welcome Behind the scene of my virtual show.

A post shared by Alexis Mabille Officiel(@alexismabille) on Jul 8, 2020 at 1:00am PDT

Haute Couture Week features one-of-a-kind outfits stitched

by hand, presented by a select club of designers.

Even for the biggest brands with huge means, however,

Europe-wide lockdowns proved a challenge.

Maria Grazia Chiuri, who designs womenswear for Christian

Dior, owned by the LVMH conglomerate, coordinated her

collection from Rome via video calls with seamstresses and

production teams working at home.

The label also faced some lost or delayed deliveries as it

tried to bring its concept for a collection presented on

mini-mannequins together - and Chiuri said she had had to

readjust to life without office staff.

"I used my daughter a lot," she joked.

Dior's teams of taylors and seamstresses - all wearing face

masks - came together in early July to put the final touches on

looks in the brand's atelier in Paris.

LINGERING UNCERTAINTY

For some designers, the uncertainty is far from over, even

as coronavirus lockdowns ease and Paris prepares to host fashion

shows again from September.

Couture labels, which sell a small number of outfits to the

uber-rich, are unsure when their clients will be able to travel

again or what demand will be as the pandemic rattles economies

the world over.

"We must propose to the buyers a balance, meaning a good

price, good quality and exceptional product and expertise," said

designer Stephane Rolland.

Designing had proved an escape from the stresses of

lockdown, Rolland added, a sentiment shared by many peers,

including Chiuri.

"At one point, I decided to listen to the news for only one

hour a day because the risk was that I would spend a lot of time

in front of the TV," Chiuri said.

"For the other people of the atelier, to work, to have a

project to make together was helpful."

Julien Fournie, a French couturier who spent lockdown

largely centered on his Paris atelier, said he was even relieved

to have a moment to create a collection without distractions.

"For the past decade, I was like a hamster who didn't stop

running," Fournie said, ahead of unveiling his looks, which

include flowing silk gowns with kimono-style sleeves.

"I no longer had the time to enjoy my team, not even to see

a dress being set up or take time to choose an embroidery or to

design a print." 

Reuters

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