un moment avec Lee
Paris, France
“Welcome to the tunnel” the voice said as a projector turned on screening clips of aerials taken over highways, people getting on and off subway cars, and men’s suited legs walking briskly down city sidewalks. With his usual urban vibe, Julien Fournié created his winter 2011 Haute Couture collection concentrated on separates and active wear. Première Mutation was the theme of the collection, resulting in an overall glance into the future of urban wardrobes.
To convey the idea of mutation, Fournié used a mix of heavy and sheer, stiff and soft, urban and military. With primarily pant and jacket looks, the woman was tough and resilient. She remained tough even with some feminine elements like flowing silk capes, a lace trimmed blouse, and a satin blazer with organza peplum flares from the waist finished with a zipper trim that held the rounded flares. It is just those hard edges that kept the attitude intact. Mutation manifested itself in pants of panels of printed denim on organza, and several deconstructed and disproportioned variations of classic jacket shapes. One jacket in particular was a blazer with tulle sticking stiffly out from under the lapel, from the sides and from under the hem. Touching on sporty references like zippers as a focal point and
Fournié showed the labors of a lot of experimentation, but these trials were not necessarily resolved. With references from active wear to menswear to Victorian, the story could have used more focus, which his past collections show he is capable of. So we’ll see with spring if he get’s it on the next mutation.
- Lee Anderson, Parisian Correspondent
Designer: Julien Fournie
Photos provided by the designer.
