Monday, September 21, 2009

louise goldin - spring/summer 2010


as one of the designers who spearheaded the knitwear renaissance, it is no surprise that it is the vanguard of the movement who continues to push the art of turning spools of thread into architectural masterpieces for the body. while the space-age futurism is inherently part of goldin's DNA, most of her collections start off by looking into the past. this season it was the work of two highly influential designers of the early nineties that became the starting point of the collection. the late gianni versace and blonde ambition era jean paul gaultier. however, by the time she has digested her references and it gets sent down the catwalk, her initial inspirational points merely becomes a faint echo. the versace influence came out in the soft pastels and baby doll dresses, and gauliter was the cage like construction that framed her pieces, and yes, the cone bra. the genius of goldin is how she is able to personalize such influences through her technique. even the minutest detail which appears to look like lace is, just like everything else she presents, knitted. achieved through a computer program written by the designer herself. there is the obvious sci-fi element with her collections, but unlike many designers who create pieces in the same vein, her's is actually, and tangibly achieved through using the most forward technology. the surprising twist was, that although this collection bears all the hallmarks of goldin's sensibilities, it also evoked a past more distant than the early nineties. the ethereally beautiful creatures that came down the runway with their flowing, wavy golden locks could've been a thirty first century version of botticelli's venus. the fan like details on the diaphanous dresses and skirts mimicked the lines of the clam venus stood on in botticelli's famous "the birth of venus" painting. there was something more poetic, more lyrical with this collection that wasn't as pronounced with her previous work. and that is the most promising sign that a talented designer is evolving into a great one.



photo: style.com

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