Coppélia Pique AW16: A Bloody Love Story
Paris marks an end to a month-long cycle of fashion shows, presentations, and showrooms – four weeks of designers displaying their new visions and inspirations taken from the surrounding bubbling world. Paris, as much as other cities have tried to assert otherwise, is still the world’s fashion capital, with the biggest fashion houses claiming their posts through the latest panoplies of creations.
However, a different (and fresher) energy has permeated Paris this season with the appearance of younger designers on the scene. There was Demna Gvalasia experimenting new forms for his debut collection at Balenciaga, days after shaking the American Church of Paris’ ground with a new take on proportions in his Parisian-cool street designs for Vêtements. J.W. Anderson also found his balance at Loewe, wowing the fashion crowds with a new sense of lightness and sensuality.
At Coppélia Pique, Parisian designer Axelle Migé sent down the runway a "bloody love story," as titled.
Inspired by the paintings of Saint Michael and the dragon and the love affair of Francesca da Rimini and Paolo Malatesta, from the story written by the Italian poet Danté, Migé turned the bloody death of the couple – killed by Paolo’s brother, Gianciotto, who was married to Francesca, for committing adultery – into a beautiful collection shown at Saint-Merri church in the heart of Le Marais.
The show opened with “the birth of the lover,” as the show notes read, showing more feminine and youthful looks: A-line skirts; a bias-cut white coat with hand-painted motif that resembled a dragon; an asymmetric white crêpe polo shirt with high-cut back, paired with mid-length pleated midnight blue skirt.
Image Credit: Coppélia Pique.
As Jeff Mill’s dramatic techno beats of “Eclipse” gave way to darker, high-pitched Lene Lovich’s “Bird Song,” the young lover turned into a woman, her looks more mature. Coats and dresses were accentuated with belts, dark blue and black pants were worn with a silk top and white coat with a padded shoulder (the padding was inverted outside).
Darker looks followed suit, signifying the lover’s transition into a warrior – one patchwork blue dress had an attached piece in the front across the body that bore the resemblance of a sword, another midnight blue tunic dress was topped with an asymmetric silk blouse paired with sneakers that gave a nomadic feel.
The princess is on her way to the battle.
Image Credit: Coppélia Pique.
Unlike Dante’s Francesca, Migé’s woman is a warrior — she does not give up love without a battle. Wool and silk were mixed with sportswear fabrics to create a more masculine look, contrasting with the feminine opening numbers. Before sending her into the battle, Migé aptly reminded the audience that her woman is a princess warrior, no less.
Image Credit: Coppélia Pique.
Entering the battle with a white silk satin dress paired with a bronze accessory around the bust, Migé’s warrior seemed like one of Ancient Greece. Different shades of red and vermillion fabrics were then draped and manipulated to mirror the bloody wounds endured in the battle. The second to last look, a white silk dress with painted bottom, resembled the one pictured above, but this time, torrents of blood took over the lover’s body.
Image Credit: Coppélia Pique.
Migé knew to save the best for last – the final look created a buzz around Saint-Merri church. The warrior with the golden-painted face, though having lost her battle, sacrificing for love, looked more powerful than ever in her red dress paired with a vermillion coat that had a train extended through the church’s hall. Perhaps Migé’s princess warrior was having her wedding moment with her lover beyond earth – love, after all, transcends time and space.
Image Credit: Coppélia Pique.
Watch the full collection here:
