Paris, September 27, 2016: Japan inspired Alithia Spuri-Zampetti, creative director of PAULE KA, for her second collection at the Maison de la Rue Saint Honoré.
In the lush setting of the Grandes Serres du Jardin des Plantes, fifty models compose a summer fantasy, between the rigor of Japanese culture and the desire for fluidity. Welcome to a symphony of dresses imbued with tropical colors, where workshop work sublimates as never before PAULE KA’s idea of the woman: the House’s “Modern Couture” spirit reveals a desire for everyday sophistication.
PURE AND STRUCTURED
A lush stroll through the heart of a fantasized Japan comes to life in a crescendo of colors, like a dream of textures and materials, from the strictest lines to the most romantic shapes. This journey begins with a tribute: when Serge Cajfinger created PAULE KA almost thirty years ago, his very first garments were almost masculine models, including a blazer from which he removed the shoulder pads, as if in reaction to the excessively baggy fashions of the 1980s. For Alithia, this inspiration was the starting point for a formidable styling exercise. Under her fingers, the suit is transformed in a thousand and one ways. The immaculate gabardine of a classic jacket, fluidly worked, is alternately unfolded into a draped long dress, a sleeveless top or a scarf tied around the body. It transforms into a jumpsuit or cape, and is sometimes structured with wide obis-like belts.
JEUX DE RAYURES
The Japanese metamorphosis continues with origami-inspired work on dresses and pleats: plain Japanese cotton sheets, like dots of color, are pleated in a multitude of ways in the House’s workshops, using clips, knots or cleverly placed cut-outs on the body, to express ultimate femininity, like bright, sophisticated flowers. The same meticulous, technical work was repeated, this time on a jacquard made in Venice, striped in three different harmonies. The result is a unique stripe pattern on each garment, yet made from the same original fabric, for a completely different look.
FLEURS COUTURE
The inspiration of the kimono is finally revealed. Floral prints and opulent jacquards made in the Como factory, thread-cut fabrics on organza and sumptuous embroideries of over-dyed, hand-formed petals form sets of dresses, short or three-quarter length. In a profusion of luxurious fabrics, spectacular volumes blend with a couture spirit and lines inherited from the 50’s, for a collection on the edge of elsewhere, feminine and sophisticated.
DEGRADED COLORS
The linings of ancient kimonos inspired outfits of absolute femininity and abstract necklines. Their seemingly simple design blends different textures, where blur meets structure. The silk is made in France using special techniques. Each gradation is skilfully constructed: a piece of fabric, dyed up to four times in a row according to meticulously thought-out folds, then reveals several shades in the same pattern, like a rainbow. In this journey to a fantasized Japan, femininity is at its height, suspended in the canopy of this idyllic greenhouse, sublimated by these dresses like birds of paradise in shades inspired by the tropics.
ACCESSORIES
Multicolored sandals with feather and petal tassels, water-snake pumps, jacquard or fringed shoes, jewel heels in metal balls or adorned with flowers… Feathers settle on earrings, necklaces and belts, and even embed themselves in the heel of a pump. Petals are embroidered on small handbags. From stripes to jacquards, accessories, like the ready-to-wear collection, illustrate this summer dream.
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