Around a long rectangular table, Georgina Chapman sat with her partner Karen as they gleamed over at a board that at the time contained 35 looks–these, the ones that would show the following day at Vanderbilt Hall where the duo would host their Spring/Summer 2013 fashion show in Midtown New York. Chapman sat with a computer by her side, looking over the music on her screen.
“We’ve been working with Rene four years,” she told me about the man behind the tunes. According to her description, Rene, whose got a knack for matching music to vibes and subsequently clothing too, comes into the studio a few weeks before the show, takes a look at the clothes or what is there of the clothes, absorbs the alleged concept, gathers inspiration from the designers and conjures up the perfect tunes. In this case, there was an inevitable and quite obvious air of Bollywood about the music he had projected.
The two Marchesa designers sat side by side staring at the model board while listening to the music through the entire soundtrack, (a combination of five songs, some more understated and staccato than others, a couple more interesting, lively and loud,) timing each song with the speculated seconds each model would spend walking.
“What do you think?” They asked me. Rene had seemingly nailed it on the head. The soundtrack spoke to the irreverence and old glam about the collection. It was hard to suppose anything but bright pink embroidery along with the tunes brought forward.
My eyes began to wander down below the table. Chapman noticed and was quick to squat down on her knees and explain to me that the plastic boxes I had grown fixated on contained samples of the fabrics she had used for the show.
“They’re all from India, each and every one,” she explained. This particular embroidery had caught my eye, instantaneously watching the graphic illustrated version taped to the paper at bottom right become 3D couture fabric rendered a feeling nothing less than romantic.
And when the fabric finally became a dress yesterday at 5PM, I couldn’t help but think about all the bright pink this season has mandated. It’s like a collective homage to Lisa Frank is making strides and in this case, splashing a dose of debutant too. As for the rest of the collection, come back soon…I’ll tell you all about it.
