July 5th, 2016
IMMERSION IN THE ATELIERS RUE CAMBON When you enter the ateliers, you accept to go beyond the reign of brands and images into a place of humility. At first everything seems silent, but this is quickly punctuated by the delicate sounds of breathing and the occasional sigh, or the sound of a tool being laid down, picked up, handled. And the gentle rustle of fabrics – tulles or satin – nearly a murmur. Each gesture defies time and patience. And although the seamstresses each appear isolated and concentrating on their work, this is a collective effort, like a stage production, to bring the sketch to life. But Haute Couture is also an adventure into unknown territory, exploring different materials; discovering them intuitively, with the hands and the eyes, to give birth to a silhouette, to shapes. The materials are tamed and led in a dance until they finally fall perfectly. This is the challenge: to take the lines of a sketch and transform them into a tour de force, with a myriad of invisible details. Angelo Cirimele
© Sketch by Karl Lagerfeld for the invitation to the Fall-Winter 2016/17 Haute Couture show. |