May it be Paris, New York or Milan, Fashion Week is an exciting time for fashion lovers. The streets of these cities are buzzing with celebrities walking, attending and enjoying the shows that set the precedent for fashion—the part of the year that decides what is in and what is out for the upcoming season. Apart from the big houses that everyone has heard of, there are a few young and upcoming gems that are shining so brightly that they catch our eyes and demand the attention they deserve. Anrealage and AREA are the two such gems that are paving the roads for what fashion means in this new era.
Be Your Own Disco Party In The Sun
With the rising global temperatures, we all know how ‘cruel’ this summer has been. Anrealage has found a way to make the summer a lot cooler with its UV, colour-changing ready-to-wear Spring Summer 2024 collection ‘Invisible’. This collection by Kunihiko Morinago is the perfect representation of how beautiful and breathtaking fashion can be when science meets it. The collection has a futuristic feel inspired by ‘Umwelt’, a German word for the surrounding world or environment.
With their myriad of patterns, these pieces of utter perfection are created from unique transparent “empty” photochromic PVC that dramatically transforms into wondrous colours according to the spectral characteristics of the object's surface. Some outfits could turn into different variations of colours based on the UV light that hits them. This is beautifully demonstrated by this chequered multi-coloured two-piece.
A blend of patterns and colourful stripes fuse together to create the next piece with elaborate accessories like bucket hats, huge hoop earrings and shoes. A recurring theme of a white bodysuit with monograms which turns into exquisite pastel hues, is seen in every outfit to complement the overlay of intricate design.
I propose these next Anrealage outfits for our friendly neighbourhood superheroes fighting crime in the sun. It’s time for them to get into this dramatic photochromic short cape and helmet and out of their boring and dreadful outfits. I’m not sure how functional this outfit is, but they might as well look uber-cool in this photochromic outfit while fighting crime (especially with the never-changing plot in every movie.
This tantalizing show weaves fashion with light in such a distinctive way that it leaves us flabbergasted and wanting for more!
An Extension Of History
The best kinds of shows are (arguably) the ones with stories. Piotrek Panszczyk’s collection for AREA explored one of the greatest stories of all time—the beginnings of humanity. In prehistoric times, animal bones and furs were used to express oneself, firmly establishing themselves as the beginnings of fashion. The show emphasizes exactly that and its transition through the centuries, morphing into excess and luxury.
This collection is a modern re-imagination of the humble beginning of mankind. If you thought these outfits were made out of fur, you would be rightfully deceived. The ‘fur pelt’ coats and skirts are made fur printed denim and twill (a cotton and polyester blend). They are cut into the beautiful patterns of the fur pelt, to recreate the realistic look of how fur fabric falls. One has to admit that it is a genius way to be environmentally friendly while not compromising one's iconic vision.
I may be a big fan of Game of Thrones and think about it a hundred times a day. But this set of gorgeous, voluminous avant-garde coats definitely deserves a feature when the Winter comes in the North. In the early human era, along with fur textures and exquisite animal skin, bones also ruled fashion, which AREA captures with its next few pieces.
Faux bones are intricately infused with the dresses by wrapping fabric around them. This gives the impression of bones jutting out like an extension of the collarbone, and then shifting the gaze to the bone at the midriff to extenuate the waist cut-out. All of this ties into the prehistoric yet modern feel AREA is trying to achieve. There are also similar snake-like bones which also expertly complement some dresses, playing into the theme of how closely we lived with different animals in the wild.
Then, we slowly see the transition from bones and fur to more modern broad-shouldered, deep V jackets, bodysuits, denim jeans, and tops— embellished with gold ornaments that look like ghastly beast scars and rips. These outfits are also paired with intricate head masks representing the hunter mask, which is overflowing with embellishments, playing into the ideas of luxury, excess and extravagance (a classic AREA move).
The show was closed by Adut Akech, wearing a dress of an exquisite combination of faux fur and bones. It flares at the waist because of how it is draped with the help of the bones, giving it an Elizabethan feel. All in all, it was refreshing to see a modern take on the roots of humanity and the cherry on top is that it was done right.
Comments