Hakaan kicked off this winter season in Paris with a show that tried to channel the opposing forces of heavy masculinity and coquettish girly-ness into...
Hakaan kicked off the autumn/winter 2011 season in Paris with a show that tried to channel the opposing forces of heavy masculinity and coquettish girly-ness into a consistent concept. Long patent leather coats and oversized pantsuits alternated with short cocktail dresses and slightly frivolous body hugging gowns. The sheer top under the casually worn leather exposed quite a bit of Mariacarla Boscono’s body when she opened the show to a fast paced rhythm in the lower ground floor at the Ritz hotel. The outfits that followed, pleated tennis skirt dresses, frilly frocks, and slouchy combos, spectacularly one in red with a big fur collar and a wide legged trouser, they all were looking for the quintessentially sexy woman, sometimes a bit more dressed up in body con numbers, other times a bit more relaxed, in generously fitted tailoring.
Thimister provided quite a different picture of femininity, or gender dialogue in his case when he sent out boys and girls together on the runway. Dark, hooded warriors, it seemed, have taken over the Grand Palais. The materials were quite interesting: something that looked like a rubberised python skin was morphed into a billowing cape and light felted wool appeared in casual jumpsuits, which were tied together with a ribbon at the front. When, at the end of the show, the colours lightened up a bit and gave way to grey and off-white looks, the mood remained quite grim, post apocalyptic almost with all those patchy fur tunics and large knitwear, made to keep you warm once our atmosphere has lost its power to keep the planet warm enough for an easygoing life.
Text by George Ghon
