In a space punctuated by marble columns, stained glass, and an intricately tiled floor which matches her collection in its antiquated beauty and charisma, there is a dilapidated grandeur that fills the air at Uma Wang’s latest runway show in Paris.
Wang’s texture, shapes and colors evoke the images of peeling wallpaper and crumbling plaster, water damaged crown molding, or sun bleached black velvet. Graphite stained fingertips, and lace bloomers strewn across an antique chair in desperate need of being reupholstered– but for some reason you just can’t bring yourself to fix it…
The pieces are abstractly structured, allowing them to be malleable and open to interpretation, inviting the wearer to embrace playful originality within the framework of Wang’s unique vision and impenetrable elegance. Her material palette consists of earthy yet refined textures with linen, lace, silk, wax canvas, and perfectly destroyed knit in shades of taupe, moss, cream, ochre, black, and white. In relaxed, organic renditions of classically polished silhouettes with oversized, imperfectly perfectly bunched hems, hats and draping, she incorporates equal touches of avant garde, utilitarian detailing, and soft, natural femininity.
The Uma Wang girl exudes a dark and woodsy, timeless beauty- with a hint of coquettish fun. Her pieces leave room for personal touch, storytelling, and daydreaming. Her collection is a poetic ode to classicism and naturalism with a very modern sensibility. As Wang has written, “The opulence of imperfection as an invitation to play with fashion.”
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“What memories remain of Venezia once one has left the Serenissima?
The outlines of the architectures.
The dilapidated colors of the walls, and the frescoes and paintings inside the buildings.
A pungent smell of Laguna water.
And a certain playfulness, a feeling of frivolity and insouciance.”
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