March 3, 2016 |
The black-rimmed eyes of the Marchesa Casati, that dame de decadence whose ethereal figure and outrageous exploits haunted belle époque high society, stared out from each and every invite to Dries Van Noten’s show – hand painted by the artist Gill Button, each one entirely unique. All 1,200 of them. “Infinite variety” was the name given to a biography of Casati, and that’s pretty much infinite. At least, I bet it gave Button’s hand cramp. There was plenty of variety on Van Noten’s catwalk, where he took inspiration from La Casati and her capers to deliver a superb collection. Casati famously lead a cheetah around on a jeweled leash whilst naked under a fur-coat, so there were blow-up big-cat prints on fur coats and stoles. Her signature pearls were embroidered and knit into net vests, and there was a slouchy, seductive sense to every garment, elongated into her signature sylph silhouette. Elegance incarnate.
Photographs by Jason Lloyd-Evans
