2023 classes may have been the hardest hit by the pandemic, as the lockdown began around the same time as the second semester of their first year, but the Faculty’s BA graduate Français de a la Mode seems to have moved forward.
“They don’t talk about coronavirus at all”, says Hervé Yvrenogeneau, who co-directs the school’s fashion design course with Thierry Rondenet. Well, not in words anyway. As we saw at the student exhibition in New York, many of the graduates’ designs created a space around the body, preventing close contact. Separation and fragmentation are understandable responses to an uncertain future, but the class also seems to want to stitch things together. One student even had a couple walk down the runway in outfits where they shared one leg.
EM Forster’s oft-quoted quote “The Only Connection” may become the motto for some of the better student series presented by IFM students. Addressing an often overlooked audience, Lucie Savarin worked with occupational therapists and people with disabilities to create hybrid garments, such as backpack pants and dresses with cup holders, that can be worn by disabled and able-bodied people alike.
Natanël Bennefla-Paris collection of soft curtains is full of emotion as he flips through family photos and browses library books, trying to stay rooted in his Algerian heritage. Originally from Italy, Manfredi Bettoni has channeled his passion for workwear into a collection that explores the phenomenon of Ametora, or an interest in traditional American style dating back to Japan. Denim played a big role in Bettoni’s designs, as in Céleste Clédat’s rave-inspired pieces, many of which were treated to ombrés that recalled the dark interiors of warehouse-turned-dance clubs. Music also influenced Robin Mayet’s collection, with “beats” rendered in shades of black, gray and white.
Tradition, technology and gender all come together in Ho Zixiang’s collection, where he defies dress codes using natural dyes (soil, plants and mold) and traditional Chinese knots. Also tying things up was Clémentine Thevoux Chabuel, whose models wore hand-crocheted sneakers with playful sheep-embellished designs, incorporating cues as diverse as family history, Corsican landscapes and Snoop Dogg. mix together. Peacocks, not sheep, are the theme of Inès Lodter’s Dandy 2.0 collection, which she dedicated to her father.
The Anna Suisse collection is designed for six dreamy and stereotypical characters – from “The Lovely Thief” to “The Heartbreaker” – whom she imagines wearing whimsical, deconstructed outfits and Accessories, including embroidered tablecloths to fit the theme, bring to a party. Home textiles also feature in Jade Blévin’s romantic and responsible designs. Her muse is the mythological figure Nausicaa, described as “the perfection of the ecofeminist movement In addition to a few pieces of khaki smock, her foam collection featured shades of white. Calais lace donated by Jean Pascal Laude, a traditional dentist who worked with Blevin, was used to create fantasy lingerie and a bridal gown.
