VIONNET . Autumn/Winter 2011

Iconic, Trend-setter, Extraordinarily creative, Visionary, Courageous, let’s dress VIONNET

Vionnet is a French haute-couture brand established by Madeleine Vionnet in her maison in Paris 1912.

Vionnet have preesented her Fall Winter 2011-12 collection that takes a trip between the digital and the real life; between polar magnetism and languid, exotic souvenirs; between fundamental art movements and a hint of primitivism. The final destination: femininity stimulated by a constant desire.

The trip Vionnet’s Creative Director, Rodolfo Paglialunga, set out on started with a geometric design discovered on the Internet: an abstract knot visually and conceptually ended up symbolizing the collection; a metaphor for a fusion of references that converge, but also as an isolated, physical gesture appearing on fluid fabrics and structured garments. The collection seems to have been born from a spark in open space resulting in these symbollic knots.

Like a matrix, the knot multiplies in skirts and tops becoming an unexpected texture of gro-grain in combinations of orange – navy, mauve – red and violet – black. In dresses, the multiplication goes infinite in firey hues of beige,mauve, orange and red bursting into a giant flower printed on stretch satin and radzimir; an organic element propelled digitally by an invasion of prints on chiffon and organza. These transform into a grouping of floral corsages in an organza dress.

The knot turns into a rosette. Multi-colored elastic belts create an unexpectedly sporty and graphic line when placed on the voluptuous volumes of a coat, jacket or dress. A conceptual, yet functional, imagination becomes fundamental with free-wheeling references of the real and virtual worlds; memories and fantasies.

Silks, fluid or crisp, exhalting the body’s silhouette with playful transparent and appliquéd pleats; all the while, fabrics garnished or quilted with solid geometrics appear like protective combat gear for heroines playing in a video game.

Proportions are continually adjusted as on a coat’s pagoda sleeve and in jackets where a giant revere unveils a precious and delicate underside of quiltied pink, pale or sky blue satin. Playing with an ambiguous structures like mixing red or white wool / silk with dashing applications of red or black fox; spontaneous and wildly extravagant.

3-D fringe, multi-colored sequins, laminated lace, patchworks of Mongolian wool, “kidassia” lambskin and mink: a game of addition and substraction in the recomposition of materials becomes almost alchemic manipulating wisely and instinctively fabrics, textures, lengths and volumes into a homogeney of winning contrasts.

A seductive palette of sky bly, orchid, sand, copper, iris, fluorescent orange, powder pink, coral,vanilla, hydrangea, malachite, prune and night blue. Fabrics are light, sinuous or rigid in crepe chiffon, silk gazar, taffetas, organza and radzimir embellised or quilted. Lace and tulles add balance the compact mixes of silk and wool.