Mood board: The overt, glossy sexiness of the 1990s was all over Sernin’s A/W 2019 collection, like the scent of last night’s slow drag on a Marlborough Red. Tom Ford’s Gucci insolence; Helmut Lang’s perversions of cotton basics; McQueen’s inventive lowering of the waistband. The refined bondage of Hervé Léger. This was the essence replayed on athletic bodies fit for a new gender-fluid age. Sernin has nurtured such frankness since launching his debut in 2017 after a stint working at Balmain. His appeal is that his work seems to beg for a return to a more corporeal time. The collection had a halcyon brutality. The sculpted line of corseted trousers cinched the waist. There were nipped-in jackets, low-cut trousers, faux astrakhan jeans. White, turquoise and black silk shirting had no buttons and billowed over bare chests. A sheer fabric wrapped around a bicep. A taut naked thigh ran up into a Swarovski crystal lace-up brief. An asymmetric white singlet scooped under the nipple.
Scene setting: The staging was reminiscent of a reductivist cabaret. A huge spotlight lingered over the models as they walked out to snippets of interviews with Naomi, Kate, Nadja et al. Recorded during the start of their now legendary careers, the icons revealed their youthful insecurities. Charming soundbites of innocence now lost in a hi-definition digital age. Sleazy, slowed down mixes of Madonna’s ‘Erotica’ and ‘Nobody’s Perfect’ played. A minimal sensualism pulsated throughout the space. Crystal encrusted handkerchief tops, sheath dresses and briefs twinkled in the light.
Best in show: A dégradé of crystals was embroidered onto a nude, sheer tank. Trousers were ruched, shearling was strict and minimal in buttery caramel, which stroked bare shoulders. A white knit had a dramatic oval cutaway: it was as if the spotlight had burned a hole to reveal the chest. In reference to Yves Saint Laurent’s 1969 collaboration with the artist couple François-Xavier and Claude Lalanne, Sernin cast parts of the male body and reproduced them in ceramic. They were wrapped around high-waist trousers. Or left to dangle around the neck. §
-
Year in review: top 10 design stories of 2024Wallpaper* magazine's 10 most-read design stories of 2024 whisk us from fun Ikea pieces to the man who designed the Paris Olympics, and 50 years of the Rubik's Cube
-
Sharon Smith's Polaroids capture 1980s New York nightlifeIDEA Books has launched a new monograph of Smith’s photographs, titled Camera Girl and edited by former editor-in-chief of LIFE magazine, Bill Shapiro
-
A multifaceted Beverly Hills house puts the beauty of potentiality in the frameA Beverly Hills house in Trousdale, designed by Robin Donaldson, brings big ideas to the residential scale
-
Palace unites with Rapha to celebrate inaugural Tour de France FemmesMarking the first time women will compete in the historic cycling race since the late 1980s, this new collaboration sees Palace Skateboards and Rapha create uniforms for both on and off the bike – including an ‘outlandish’ pair of Crocs
-
Paris Fashion Week A/W 2022: Chanel to Miu MiuIn this extended report, Wallpaper* updates you live from Paris Fashion Week A/W 2022 shows, with rolling coverage as runway events unfold
-
Scene-stealing runway sets from S/S 2022 womenswear showsFrom giant roulette wheels to Olympic diving boards and multi-city synchronized extravaganzas – our pick of the best fashion show sets from S/S 2022 womenswear
-
Louis Vuitton A/W 2020 Paris Fashion Week Women's -
Chanel A/W 2020 Paris Fashion Week Women’s -
Y/Project A/W 2020 Paris Fashion Week Women's -
Sacai A/W 2020 Paris Fashion Week Women's -
Alexander McQueen A/W 2020 Paris Fashion Week Women’s
