“I thought the knitwear was extraordinary. I’d really like to know what materials they’ve worked with. I was very impressed,” Brigitte Macron told Vogue following today’s show at the Institut Français de la Mode, where the graduating class of the Master of Arts in Fashion and Knitwear presented their final projects before an audience that also included the newly appointed minister of culture, Rachida Dati, industry titans Bruno Pavlovsky and Sidney Toledano; and Alaïa CEO, Miriam Serrano.
The IFM show has been granted the opening spot on the Paris Fashion Week calendar, and the exposure has generated momentum—not just out of goodwill, or because the school represents the legacy of founding father Pierre Bergé as a pioneering project by the French Ministry—but because ever since its merger with the École de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne in 2019, the campus on the Seine has been determined to attract and cultivate young talent on par with London’s Central Saint Martins and the Royal Academy in Antwerp. “When you look at this fashion show, you have the impression that [the school] is already very accomplished,” said Dati.
Through a total of 158 looks, the 27 students from 13 nationalities represented a veritable spectrum of imagination and individualism while demonstrating elevated workmanship through hybrid constructions and deconstructions; historical and futuristic dress; and extreme craft. The line-up began with Quinhan Liu’s gargantuan jumper covered in a mass of what looked like fallen leaves (backstage, she revealed they were leather offcuts); suits printed with tree rings; and a handsome coat with a chunky coiled belt. “It’s a message of peace combined with the East Asian tradition of wrapping,” she said.
There were themes that chimed with what’s playing out on the runways; see Enrico De Marchi’s survivalist cowboys (48-53) who donned twisted tailoring, polished safety vests, and carried an actual saddle bag. Or else, the twinned looks (125-130) from Vincent Sung Park, who made it possible for two people to wear a single warm-up jacket that zipped and extended across both bodies, with built-in loops across the backs of blousons that secured outstretched arms. There were a number of dystopian female manifestations, suggested through shadowy silhouettes and unusual volumes by Younes Benbousselham (66-71) that contrasted an embrace of queer decadence from Jude Macasinag, who closed the show.
To be sure, the quirkiness was dialed high in some instances, which Felix Chabluk-Smith, co-director of the fashion design program, described as encouraging their self-expression. “We really tried to push them in whatever direction they need to go in.” But while non-conformity and boundary-breaking are practically prerequisites among grad shows, a number of the knit creations excelled because the students focused on pushing techniques rather than silhouettes. The cratered, pebbly surfaces and enveloping shapes from Kira Zander (7-12); the delicate burnout, lacy and gradient weaves from Sofia Saerens (19-24); and the intriguing relief patterns from Antonio Romano stood out to this reviewer, if not also to Madame Macron. Romano, who could easily be courted by a major fashion house after today, said he will likely return to Italy and work on his own brand where he can live “a slow fashion life.”
As for the fabrics that defied recognition, Chabluk-Smith noted how this year’s cohort were especially interested in material development. Min Wang’s seemingly hand-painted and stamped dress (101) was first 3D-printed then screen-printed—no textile whatsoever. “I think they’ve all come such a long way in such a short amount of time and I’m so indescribably proud of them,” Chabluk-Smith said. “And they’re all wonderful, beautiful, strange, unique human beings.” For those not singled out here, know that your originality did not go unnoticed.
Well after the audience dispersed, Madame Macron continued to exchange with students and faculty (on the other side of town, her husband, President Emmanuel Macron, was hosting a last-minute conference in support of Ukraine defeating Putin). Given that her professional life has revolved around teaching, she was in her milieu and insisted that the industry (and, presumably, the state) must ensure that future designers can flourish here. “There s so much creativity, with all these young people coming from different countries, and the emulation that goes on between them. We need to support them because this is the world of today and tomorrow. They are leading the way, showing us where we need to go. Not only are we inspired by them, but we have to help them, and I would really like to do that because they know how much I love fashion.” Is it that farfetched to imagine her wearing a graduate design in lieu of a luxury maison one day?
