July 8, 2021 |
Back in January, Charles de Vilmorin made his debut on the official Haute Couture schedule. Since, he has been appointed the creative director Rochas – pretty neat for a designer who’s barely 24, right? He’s got a lot of pressure on his shoulders, but don’t expect de Vilmorin to crumble anytime soon. This designer is all about charging forward; conscious not to become too fixated on one idea for too long.
No more is this clearer than de Vilmorin’s sophomore couture outing. A complete 180 from the explosive, hand-painted concoctions which shaped his debut, AW21 sees the designer work in an almost entirely black palette (apart from a scribbled namesake monogram). Speaking to Vogue, he said: “I wanted to show something different, but it comes very naturally. It was just a mood.”
There’s a campy sort of sinister twinge to these garments, a bit like American Horror Story: Coven, if the witches took a day out to the desert. In a film directed by Colin Solal Cardo, models trudge across sandy terrains wearing hoop-skirted ball gowns, deconstructed halter-neck ensembles adorned with black coq feathers, and gothic frocks with blooming sleeves. It was a strong follow-up for de Vilmorin, and despite the collection’s moody pallette, this designer’s future looks bright.
Photography courtesy of Charles de Vilmorin.
