When Adrien Sahores first told me about his idea for a fashion show, I couldn’t help but be a little skeptical. Not that I didn’t trust him as an organizer. My state of mind was “What’s the point, a boy with his CV, his experience as a male model, a title adulated, revered even, for the biggest names in fashion ( Dior! Kris! Raf! Yohji! (A long-winded question, as is often asked in the industry, although my intention was not to be “snobbish” or condescending, you see).
The dark, mysterious boy as we know him (or maybe just busy, but that sounds less glamorous…) elaborated on the details of the famous show a week before it took place (over an excellent dinner of pasta, wine, all reminiscent of Milan, fashion week, fashion shows, and therefore terribly appropriate for the occasion).
“With a group of students from my school, we have this project as part of one of our courses (Project management, obviously). We intend to organize a fashion show in partnership with one of our school’s associations and designers from the Rouen region. Our ultimate goal would be to not only promote the potential of these designers, but also to prove that we’re capable of putting on a fashion show from A to Z.”
“Interesting,” I said, not without wondering what my role in the story would be.
“In fact, it would be great if you could attend,” he tells me. “Ah, to write an article about it? Yes, of course, with great pleasure. ” I replied with a mixture of excitement and haste.
“No, I wouldn’t ask you to write a big article about the show! But it would be nice if you could help us promote some of the creations…”
In fact, what Adrien was asking of me was the very proof of his self-sacrifice. He wasn’t interested in promoting his work (un homme de hombre) or having me sing the praises of his organizational skills. He wanted me to promote his creations and only his creations.
“I know you have good taste, but don’t be too harsh all the same,” he concluded, looking amused.
And yet I’m already a few paragraphs in and haven’t said a word about the creations! (I’m getting there). Why? Well, quite simply because I’m a fervent defender of talent and hard work, and the efforts made by Adrien and his comrades were impressive and well-intentioned enough for me to overlook them. What’s more, the modesty he showed could only encourage me to highlight him too (that and the fact that I love to disobey…..but I digress).
Fast forward to the week after our dinner, the day of the show, April 24, and I’m on my way to Rouen to attend the Rouen Young Designers Fashion Show.
The weather, radiant and mild, perfectly matched the joyful, collegial atmosphere of the moment. As soon as I arrived at the school (in charming company), I was greeted by the context of the parade: it would be outside, and I would be seated in the front row (!!!) among the school administrators. Blue carpets marked out the runway (and I couldn’t help thinking back to all those fashion shows where you’re not allowed to walk on the catwalk before the show!) I’ve rarely been so surprised by the way I was welcomed and the attention I received! Adrien and I took advantage of the show getting underway to go on a whirlwind tour of the backstage area, where I enjoyed the atmosphere as the students who had become models for the afternoon got ready and laughed.
The atmosphere was different from what I’d seen at “professional” fashion shows, in that the people I passed looked happy and relaxed, which prompted Adrien to tell me that it was all “done on purpose”. He wanted the show to be reminiscent of the catwalks of yesteryear, when the models didn’t look edgy or sickly, and there was genuine interaction between the public and the catwalk.
As the show was about to start, I was going to sit down. The list of designers who showed that day is pretty long. And now I’m starting to talk about them (finally!).
And it’s with Jeffrey Fernandes Soares (no relation to Adrien SAHORES, I should point out), the most “professional” of the designers present. Originally from Rouen, his creations are inspired by the Victorian era, with a strong steampunk influence. The garments, a compromise between history and fashion design, include corsets, long trains, accessories that are surprising to say the least (the vial and scissors belt!) and exude a theatrical aura. The shape of the skirts, the hats and the fine weather inevitably remind me of the scene in Georges Seurat’s painting “A Sunday afternoon on the Ile de la Grande Jatte”. and the masculine and feminine silhouettes are presented to us.
Jessica Mussi, a student at the school, was one of my favorites that day. She presented her only creation (a wedding dress), but the quality far surpassed the quantity. A white, panel dress with a mix of materials and transparencies. What’s not to like?
Axel Pinhot Marie creates effortless yet wearable clothing and looks for women. Black is used extensively in her creations, as are flowing fabrics (and drapes!).
Déborah Largillière focuses on womenswear, particularly dresses. The dresses shown at the Rouen Young Designers fashion show are fluid and adaptable throughout the day to all occasions (business, casual, cocktail). Subtle nods to the 90s are made through the use of lamé and the now iconic spaghetti straps.
Poline Heurtaut is the one who includes the most mixes of materials in her creations: from feathers to leather to various transparent materials and eyelets, the directions taken by the young designer are numerous. More oriented towards womenswear, I have to admit that I’m won over by the wedding dress (definitely!): the slits, the straps, the neckline, the lengths, the transparent material, the layering, this piece is in itself a concentrate of trends.
And finally, we have Mylène Bazin, a young designer who creates elegant, slim-fitting daywear for women. One cape catches my eye because it’s composed of leather panels and a wool interior that mimics shearling. She even ventures into the design side of THE MOST DIFFICULT PIECE, i.e. the jacket, which here comes with zippers and mixed materials.
In addition to the hard work of the designers, theRouen Young Designers Fashion Show also featured some incredible work by students from Rouen Business School. Yes, knowing the professional world of fashion, I was skeptical at first, but they managed to blur my doubts in a whirlwind of joy and adorable resourcefulness that didn’t leave me unmoved, and reminded me of another era in fashion when things were “fun, fun, fun” for everyone, and where design and organization were part of the fun, rather than the industry we know today. He also proved to me that a good-looking face is not incompatible with a capacity for thought and a brain, isn’t that right Adrien Sahores?
Mary Yasmine Arrouche (front row!!)
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