After a three-year hiatus, Véronique Branquinho made her return to Paris this week with her S/S13 collection...
After a three-year hiatus, Véronique Branquinho made her return to Paris this week with her S/S13 collection. The Belgian designer who established her eponymous label in 1997 with a characteristically no-nonsense attitude to feminine dressing, confidently re-established herself with a succession of silhouettes that summed up the Branquinho essence. Not necessarily considering this S/S13 collection as either a fresh start or a continuation of her former work, she explained after the show: “In effect, it’s an evolution. It was a balancing act to harmonise the things I carry with me from the past with the direction I want to take in the future. In my search to discover what typifies me, I sought out pure lines, not too much adornment, a minimal look. I wanted to depict a more grown-up, adult image of a woman, with a certain sexiness.”
"It’s an evolution. It was a balancing act to harmonize the things I carry with me from the past with the direction I want to take in the future"
This departure became apparent in the stately fluidity of the peachy-hued floor-length gowns with bare backs, beading and rose-gold toned jewellery. “It’s a different kind of woman. More mature, she’s elegant and subtle. By no means gaudy. She has a softness which, very importantly, is a definite strength.” Faithful to her signature mix of masculine and feminine elements, Branquinho also showed more familiar shapes from her repertoire: trouser suits, crisp shirts, jackets and pleats. So does she design for the same woman, but one who has come of age? “I design for those who find it beautiful. I think that first of all I am a contemporary designer. I am not a luxury brand, I am modern.”
