The clumsy and dirty street of Rue de Montmorency in Paris couldn’t hide something genuinely pure and sophisticatedly sleek of a spring/summer collection shown on it. The Dutch Ilja Visser (the brand is written ILJ\. I know it's confusing at first) travelled to the land of sunrise, creating collection titled Ikebana.
Wise fusion of natural colour, sublime sleek shapes, and gracious line are the keys of the collection. Like Ikebana with its sacred rules governing its form, the dresses shown were so controlled that each of them creates harmony to the others. I couldn't help but wonder how the asparagus-green pleated long skirt paired with a white top with arm detail actually worn in a Japanese garden instead of in a humid gallery by a stationary model. Or the loop-shaped pleat cocktail dress with the prints resembling the shadow of flower stems and leaves. It's so gracious that those numbers are actually coming from the same idea, but so versatile when it's applied to different women in different circumstances. The silhouette of plantation and the ultimate beauty of nature juxtaposed with the modernity and urban milieu are blended so tenderly like a hieratic well-made Ikebana bouquet.
Not only was the idea shown in physical way, but also the sense and spirit of 'giving life to flowers' was solemnly obeyed, recalling that whatever happens to and around the clothes, it is the woman, or in this case 'the flower', is given life by pliant work of garment construction.
Signorfandi, so calming...