“I put pressure on myself to do better every season,” explains Marie Valognes, aka mise en, the artist who has been transforming our favourite runway looks into abstract sculptures over recent seasons. “I don’t know if I succeed but I do think I’m getting better at moulding and modifying existing objects into the feel I want. I’ve been into melting plastic lately, and I was able to incorporate this newly acquired technique this season.” While for Autumn/Winter 2016, rubber gloves became a Comme des Garçons showpiece, and a bottle of handsoap suddenly bore resemblance to a pastel Versace number, this season Maison Margiela’s headpieces were fashioned from “pickled ginger from my local Chinese shop on Kingsland Road – it looks like a piece of skin, and seemed a good match as the colour palette makes me think of a vegan meal,” and a sprig of hay became Prada’s marabou feathers. “They’re all challenging to realise, and it can take a few goes before I feel I got it right, but the process is made easier with an idea,” she explains. “Fendi was the hardest because it’s simple and at first I couldn’t decode it. So I left it until the end, and I eventually started seeing it differently, and all its elements separately. I see them all as little sculptures or artistic compositions now.” Here, her enchantingly deconstructed realisations prove this method to be a resounding success. Enjoy.
“Silky graphic lines interrupted by a stain, a bag with chain and fluff, and clashing shoes; it unusually combines both cute and punk” – Marie Valognes on Fendi
“When squinting it looks like a bunch of dusty roses” – Marie Valognes on J.W.Anderson
“If My Little Pony went disco dancing, and my abstract interpretation of it” – Marie Valognes on Marc Jacobs
“Here’s a Scottish skirt you could potentially fly with. I also think of it as a walking grid, and decided to concentrate on the mechanics, rather than just use tartan” – Marie Valognes on Comme des Garçons
“To me this is ‘Greek patio meets African hut’” – Marie Valognes on Prada
“This is what happens when your cat plays with your stuff” – Marie Valognes on Rick Owens
