Punk and Renaissance united in a fashion collection.
This is precisely how Andreas Kronthaler, creative director of Vivienne Westwood, decided to carry forward the punk, provocative, transgressive, but also poetic heritage of the fashion house, inviting none other than the singer Sam Smith to walk the catwalk.
For him, an iconic look from this collection, with vertiginous heeled (and plateau) boots, draped knitwear and the jockstrap-pouch, inspired by sports briefs that serve as protection (he carried a large wooden stick in his hand, in his first outing) .
Photo story Vivienne Westwood's show at Paris Fashion Week - Photos - Ansa.it
The designer, who presented his collection in Paris at Fashion Week, says he visited an exhibition in Milan and was particularly impressed.
''I decided to look at late Renaissance costumes because I went to an exhibition of Giovanni Battista Moroni in Milan, it reminded me a lot of the first years working with Vivienne.
she-she explains-When I met her, I was totally struck by the fact that she was as interested in the story as I was.
It was the first passion we shared''.
So long Victorian-inspired dresses, oversized shirts with Renaissance cuts (even with puffed sleeves), bows and decorated satin.
But that's not all, could the punk touch have been missing?
Thus, pouch-jockstraps come to the fore, inspired by protective sports briefs and jockstraps used by men in sporting activities, reworked with the addition of a zip to transform them into a pouch.
The connection is Janet Arnold's Patterns of Fashion, often used by the couple in the past as a reference for period costumes.
''I received some protective sports clothing from a dear friend and I could see a connection,'' says Kronthaler, showing the references to the 1600s made by playing with breeches, sharp and piercing materials, trousers.
Focus also on footwear, with musketeer maxi cuissards and platform boots, a clear reference to the heritage of the brand founded by the queen of punk, who passed away in December 2022. On the catwalk, animated by a musical performance between the tribal and the influences of nature (with sounds of birdsong, for example), also Lila Moss (Kate Moss' daughter) and Kristen McMenamy.
While among the celebrities present at the show there are Coco Rocha, Maneskin bassist Victoria De Angelis, Julia Fox, Emma Chamberlain, Barbara Palvin to applaud Kronthaler, who encapsulates the meaning of his collection in a thought.
''What is the purpose of making clothes?
- he wonders - They should make you feel good.
Underneath there is desire, this is what we want to create.
This is the essence of fashion''.
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