October 5, 2022 |
Fantasy and hope were catalysts in the creation of Kiko Kostadinov’s spring 2023 ready-to-wear collection. Laura and Deanna Fanning – the Aussie twins who head up the womenswear division – imagined an offering that was playful and sprightly with abounding youthfulness. Showing at a high-school gymnasium it was their Parisian debut, and for this, they relished in a sugary girlishness counterposed with lacy Victorian gothic subcurrents.
The pair have previously cited regular retailer remarks wondering where all the dainty dresses are, but “girly” isn’t a derogatory term in their design vocabulary anymore. This season, the sisters sent floaty silk-georgettes, chiffon midi dresses and twisted halter knits into the ether, the clingy pastel fabrics falling off shoulders and grazing hips. Pastel godet skirts and spiral minis were paired with gelato-hued nylons that had ribbon laced up the leg like ballet slippers while panelled flares served as the foundation for chain-link necklaces with dangling juicy-hued beads to sling across the body. What’s more, the label’s hit Trivia bag (which were rife on the alfresco playground just beyond the doors) is now available in glimmering carnation pink, soft gold and powder blue hues.
The pair have always had a knack for interweaving historical references into their work, and this season they traced transparencies back to the Lady and the Unicorn and the brilliant Flemish tapestries that hang within the Musée de Cluny. The flirty girls that glided across the glossy floor – with their colourful spider-web-wrapped hair-dos – embodied romantic expressions of contemporary womanhood too, perceivable in the decisive day-to-nightwear they wore. It’s clear the designers were feeling the romance wafting through the smoggy air of the City of Love. Their show was a whimsical sartorial sight worth day dreaming about.
Photography courtesy of Kiko Kostadinov.
