MARIA ARISTIDOU COUTURE SS 2020: PARIS FASHION WEEK

Maria Aristidou SS2020 knit couture collection is, in every respect, inspired by the Art Deco movement of the early 20th century. When the need for change following World War One spread in all aspects of art and design from buildings to furniture, jewelry, fashion and every day objects. 

Similar to the Art Deco movement the collection combines bold styles with fine craftsmanship and rich materials representing luxury, glamour and exuberance. 

Maria Aristidou’s BOLD collection, guided by the essence of shape to form clean, geometric designs with vivid colors and vibrant patterns using knit fabrics, represents a challenge for both men and women to deviate from the norm, be BOLD and dive into the fascinating abyss of Art Deco inspired shapes and colors of knit couture.

The magic of knitwear inspired the designer to first explore and then create, using luxurious threads, elaborate techniques, and various knit patterns. The craftsmanship of detailed hand embroideries adds to the uniqueness of Maria Aristidou's fabric collections for the couture evening and accessories.

The process of each collection production starts from the fabric design. Yarns such as wool, viscose, lurex, cotton, silk and velvet (depending on the season) are ordered from France and Italy.  Then, a series of patterns are designed in great detail followed by a series of tests to decide on the yarns to be used for each pattern, how thick or thin the fabric will be, color sampling combinations, hand-embroidery design testing, quality and durability checks etc.  The whole design and production processes take place in Cyprus.

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STEVEN KHALIL FALL WINTER 2020 COUTURE

Featuring colourways of dove and pale pink, cornflower blues to deep jades and dramatic blacks rounding out the palette. This story explores the anatomy and fragility of flowers- their natural peculiarity and softness, while combining and expressing these notions with a mixture of strength and romanticism. It was Steven’s intention to emulate and convey different flowers in varying stages of bloom- from tightly wrapped buds that hug and wrap the body to blossoms unfurling for a spring morning and fully fledged flowers triumphantly open and joyous.

The woman envisioned to be drawn to and wear pieces from this collection is like so many of the women Steven loves to dress - strong, passionate and confident - but who also likes to express their femininity and understand the power of and look for a dramatic silhouette.

Steven has designed a collection rich with surface detailing and using exclusive embroidery techniques leading to the creation of the final pieces. Each piece is uniquely detailed in its construction while still feeling whole and being a part of the same story. Most of these hand finished and detailed gowns can take from 100-200 hours to design, construct and finish. This is part of the DNA of the brand. Every collection is different but still special.

Experimenting with layering and creating tufts of raffia that sit against a silver metallic base to amplify the sheen. Combining hand-cut powder pink silk georgette with a fine metallic thread for intricate vine like centres. Some also comprise small bursts of stamen flowers to enhance the original source of inspiration.
Densely embroidered pieces feature that are designed to have a foliage like formation that gradate into smaller individual clusters. Even more texture was explored through the selection of beading in metallic silver, jet black and gunmetal to increase lustre and shine. Deeper and more sumptuous silk velvet is used to enhance the combination of the matte/shine embroidery.

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