Fairies and ivy and angels and swans..
In many ways I think that evening wear is easier to design than day wear. It's easy to make a pretty dress; a simple a-line in shimmering silk, or a beaded chiffon ball-gown. Each fashion week I see the same silhouettes and materials go down the runway and, while the majority of these dresses are extremely beautiful, there's always the search for more. I almost believed that the boundaries of evening wear had been pushed to the limits; that there were no more ways in which material could be draped around the body and still be considered flattering. Luckily, Marchesa's fall/winter ready-to-wear collection for 2010 has proved me entirely wrong.
Marchesa has always been an innovator for eveningwear ever since it's debut in 2004 (it's hard to believe it's still a relatively new label!), however this collection, in particular, completely blows my mind. My favourite is the far right dress in the first image. The embroidery that skims across the body like a tattoo and then magically blooms out into folds of soft fabric. I still cant comprehend the technicalities of the construction of this dress; how do the 'tattoos' join with the fabric? Why can I see no seams?
Then there's the far left dress in the second image. The soft puffs of tulle snaked around the body. I'm fairly sure the model is an angel, stuck in the clouds. Last image far left: impeccably tailored jacket that spurts blooms of something alive and probably found in the sea. Last image far right: a sea siren dragged onto land, dripping molten silver. Wow, wow, wow.
