In Paris, mingling with the stylish and the up-and-coming

PARIS — YStyle took a quick breather from the fashion shows to chat with designers during London Fashion Week and drop by events during Paris Fashion Week.

Piers Atkinson, Milliner

London-based Piers Atkinson’s hats and headpieces — including a collection of ears, not necessarily Mickey’s, but including his eared and disturbed neighbors, that evolved out of spilled ink; hellish clowns from Dante’s Inferno; a dismembered Barbie head perching on a rose with a quill; cherry ballgags; a silk cabbage rose covering the face entirely — are clever and entertaining. His surreal and romantic fall/winter 2011-2012 spotlighted a neon-trimmed Paris sign on a beret and Le Baiser, a permanent pucker on tulle. The spring/summer 2012 collection brings in a bit of hallucinatory, fantastic fun, with a giant grasshopper perching on the head and monstrous glowing orchids.

The milliner worked in PR before launching his label in 2008. He has since shown with Stephen Jones at London’s Victoria & Albert Museum and has collaborated with several fashion brands.

YSTYLE: Do you have specific inspirations for the current collection? It isn’t about Paris this time...

PIERS ATKINSON: No! It’s not about Paris! Fall/winter 2011-2012 was about the dreamers who make dreams come true in clubs, alleyways, in the dark — sailors, secret lovers, dancers — and that was set in Brassai’s Paris. For the current season it’s the dreamers who make their illusions come to life in theater — the artisans — and this is set in Hollywood’s “Jungle.” It’s that glossy hyper-reality of 1940s sets and costumes!

How would you describe the collection in three words?

Exotic! Hot! Sexy!

Who is the woman who wears this collection?

She is intelligent, fun, confident. Men want her, women want to be her!

What’s your favorite piece in the collection?

I love the crystal-covered micro-beret for the current season.

What should one wear with your hats?

Rose-scented bubbles and a glass of champagne — in the Jacuzzi.

Kim Gordon x Surface to Air Event

Late last year, when Kim Gordon and Thurston Moore, the famed duo of Sonic Youth, announced their breakup, fans of the band were disappointed, and then heartbroken to learn that Sonic Youth had gone on hiatus. Parisian fans and crazed Youth out-of-towners had the chance to meet Gordon, and shake her hand at the rock star’s launch of her collaboration with fashion label Surface to Air. YStyle was invited event and to the party afterwards at Club Silencio.

Gordon told YStyle and also said in a press release that she discovered the fashion brand when purchasing a pair of shoes: ‘‘Black leather wedges.’’ The story goes that Surface to Air creator Jeremie Rozan saw Gordon wearing these shoes at a Sonic Youth concert and contacted her, saying they’d like to give her more shoes.

Said Gordon in a press statement: “I like dresses that are sort of tomboyish, and slightly convey the idea of the feminine and the body without being overtly sexy but allowing for mystery. The mood of this collaboration is somewhat like the French singer Catherine Riberio: The sound of her voice and its melody becomes abstract and then finds form with the music.”

KTZ

KTZ was an idea from the minds of designers Sasko Bezovski and Marjan Pejoski, who are both from Macedonia, and Koji Maruyama, who is Japanese. Marjan and Koji studied fashion design at Central Saint Martins while Sasko was studying architecture. Marjan is known for the infamous “swan dress” worn by Bjork at the 2000 Cannes Festival, the 2001 Academy Awards, and for the cover of her album Vespertine.

KTZ means Kokon To Zai, which means “from here to then” and aims to place importance on the journey in style and fashion. The brand’s designs are graphic, both in shape and in print.

YSTYLE: Can you tell us a little about how the brand/label began?

KTZ: The store of the same name, when it began, was a place to find the most fun and interesting designs. Throughout the years we presented for the first time those in their successful journeys in the world of fashion. Designers such as Ricardo Tisci, Bernhard Wilhelm, Gareth Pugh had their graduate collections represented in the store. It was a great platform to take the audience’s attention to many different levels and give them the hottest tips on up-and-coming designers. After 10 years of experience in selling the fashion of top designers, and from all the knowledge we gathered within this period, we wanted to create this new project, to establish a new label: affordable above all and with a unique look. There was an audience out there that needed to identify themselves with movement as such.

Who is KTZ?

Every young person out there who is rebellious and whose aim is to get out of the mind frame of ordinary looks!

Your current collection which showed in London Fashion Week last September, and collections in the past, have been inspired by Africa. What specifically about Africa?

Africa has been the topic on our catwalk for several seasons. Tribes with their individual style of expression mixed with modern times or movements, which appear in modern society, to do a magical blend of expression!

What else was it inspired by?

Punk.

What is your favorite piece in the current collection?

Hard to say… I would say the last Masai Dress which we closed the show with!

How does each collection come to mind?

It all happens through extensive research we do all the time and sometimes can happen easily to change the direction during the period of development! Team work above all!

Who is your favorite customer?

Every young person who believes in our work!

Tod’s Signature Collection Event

The Tod’s Signature Collection Event was held at the Italian Embassy in Paris with guest of honor Nicole Kidman. Other celebrities included Jade Jagger and Margherita Missoni.

Tod’s Signature Collection blends production techniques with Tod’s expertise in leather. The collection’s textural aspects are inspired by the Gommino — Tod’s driving moc (from the Italian for “rubber”).

The event included digitized Gommino effects and other lighting surprises that highlighted the glass-encased bags.

Huishan Zhang and Chow Tai Fook

After opening the world’s first art shopping mall in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong over two years ago, K11 has now set its sights on Paris. The company, which aims to “bring art, nature and people together in harmony,” transported its mission to Paris during week of the fall/winter collections in a collaborative event with Chow Tai Fook, the world’s largest jewelry company. The event, aimed to align Chinese fashion designers Huishan Zhang and Xiao Yu with other artists while promoting his work within the European market. 

The Pavillon Vendôme in the Opera district housed the cocktail party. Chinese and French businessmen and celebrities posed against a photo-wall on the first floor. The level below overlooked the main space and carried a salmon hors d’oeuvre table, while the lowest level had a risotto station and DJ Misty Rabbit spun easy tunes.

Zhang, who was named Designer of the Year by Numéro Chine, told YStyle, “My creations are modern Chinese. I want to show the sophistication of Chinese designs through my work.’’ Zhang’s couture collection, consisting of sheer white silk and black lace pieces, was displayed against a black wall. When asked how popular he’s been with the press in Europe, the designer, of Topshop’s NewGen awardees at London Fashion Week, said, ‘’I’ve been featured in several magazines in Europe.” Zhang worked for Dior while still a student at Central St Martins.

Guests included ASVOF’s Diane Pernet, French actress Clotilde Coreau and Vietnamese-French actress Linh Dan-Pham. An erotic dance presentation by artists Yin Fang and Huang Huan capped off the evening.