Thu 29th September
Inspired by a Yoko Ono art installation that Cecilie Bahnsen saw years ago at Copenhagen’s Louisiana Museum, the Danish designer called her spring collection We Are Water. And here’s why: Ono’s exhibition displayed a row of glass bottles on a shelf, each filled with water and fitted with a handwritten label stating the name of a prominent creative – Sylvia Plath, Cindy Sherman or David Bowie, for example – signifying a message of oneness because at our core, we’re all essentially the same. “It expresses so beautifully something that I feel to be true – that we are all the same, just placed in different containers,” Bahnsen wrote. So, to set the tone, Cecilie commissioned her own adaptation of Ono’s work. Glassblower Nina Nørgaard made 250 glass bottles which were then displayed on a series of low mirrored plinths, each referring to the various people whose craft contributed to the collection.
Bahnsen’s team and community served as a creative catalyst here too, gleaned from the way that they wear her bulbous garms. How they might put on a dress on a tiresome Tuesday, or for supper on a Sunday? “I grew up dreaming of Paris and couture, but it was always something fancy, not for real life,” Bahnsen recalls. “I love the idea that I’m able to create something precious for every day.”
And so she did. Under overcast skies, enveloped by the elegant Cour Mansart in the Monnaie de Paris, models meandered around its ivy-cloaked alabaster walls, donning dreamy, babydoll dresses paired with one-of-a-kind Asics trainers or worn over fluid-form trousers. Bahnsen invited ivory Japanese denim in too, often embroidered by floral motifs and backed with crinoline, while translucent T-shirts travelled to her enchanting universe under stratified organza silhouettes. Chock-full of decadence, femininity and the dream of day-to-day couture, Cecilie Bahnsen’s spring oeuvre left us with but one simple sentiment – oh what a wonderful, whimsical world.
Photography courtesy of Cecilie Bahnsen.
