Ellery | SPACE at Nordstrom
Ellery | SPACE at Nordstrom
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One of the industry's biggest benefits when a magazine editor crosses over to the design world? She brings the magazines with her. That's what's up with Kym Ellery, who left gorgeously tactile digest-sized, book-like magazines on all the front row seats at her Palais de Tokyo Fall 2016 runway presentation.
She had some pretty great other things for her audience, too: liquid gold lame, double silk georgette, turn-of-the-century blouses, lingerie, fur and those trademark flares. Tucked inside the mag was this explanation: "It's a collection that explores the contrast between old and new... A sudden click, a lightbulb, a fleeting feeling, remembering something that doesn't necessarily exist."
The Ellery look is all about the comfort of the feminine flourish; the luxurious pool of fabric, the trumpet-shaped grandeur of a sleeve, the insanely beautiful decadence of velvet. The feminine flourish turn of the 19th Century-the starting point of "the old" that Kym referenced for this collection-wasn't nearly so comfortable. The fabric pools were heavy, the ruffles were a burden and the elegance was restrictive; you were literally strapped in.
Each piece, and the overall vision, was about the dovetail of those differences. The doing-away-with of the Victorian constraint, and the reimagining of its best and most beautiful ideas for modern times.
The corset was embedded in the bodice, the lace-up bootie was in blue velvet, the long silhouettes were split to bear the thigh and structure fit loosely over free-flowing double silk georgette.
The idea of sensuality was key-on the runway and also in the magazine; in fact, one feature had art director Bruna Volpi, stylist Ludivine Poiblanc, photographer Akila Berjaoui and others take a stab at defining it.
Other hits in the magazine: a photo essay by Ellery that reads like a stream of consciousness mood board, a look book of the current season, an architecture feature, and a list of handwritten anonymous memories from stylists, production crew members, designers and more.
See our spaghetti-strap version on the Delorean dress (above) See all of our Fashion Week coverage, shop the trends and get inspired on our Designer Collections Fashion Week hub.SHOP: current season Ellery at SPACE
-Laura Cassidy