Vionnet seems to have reached a point of no return in its recent renaissance.
Creative director Goga Ashkenazi, with the help of designer Hussein Chalayan, has taken the Parisian fashion house one step further from its inherited drapes and Grecian inspired gowns.
Although change was evident, our eyes were eased into the process with soothing touches of light aquamarine blue and peach toned, silk dresses, each cinched in at the waist with either a wrapped silk ribbon or a statement belt.
These dresses appeared to be subtle tributes to the signature draping techniques and bias cut, both famous emblems of the maison, but the collection quickly drifted from its traditional aesthetic.
Silhouettes took on more structured cuts, as conventional, delicate and feminine designs saw themselves replaced by black leather trousers with incorporated shoes, jumpsuits, plaid floor length skirts and mohair co-ords. Many designs were splashed with red strokes that resembled hot lava.
Modish hooded capes were presented, the most flamboyant in an exuberant red, while other designs were muted in crystalline gold wired mesh and crackled monochrome print.
Accessories were kept to a minimum but practical bags on wheels trailed behind models.
The new collection seems takes into account the ever-changing facet of the modern-day woman. We see her go from tailored trousers, culottes and working girl shirts to daring thigh high silt dresses.
The Vionnet girls had everything but smiles on their faces, they were fierce, focused but again far from Madeline’s preceding values which insisted that; “When a woman smiles, then her dress should smile too.”
The collection was a controlled eruption of the Vionnet house. Spectators saw each step leading to this eruption. The collection went from calm and collected to cracks in the surface, right up to an overflow of fire-like lava.
After a volcanic eruption comes new life and this collection marks the beginning of a new era for the brand.