Dear Shaded viewers,
Calabi-Yau: The Hidden Dimensions is the title of ArdAzAei’s third couture collection. For her debut on the Paris Fashion Week Haute Couture calendar, founder, and artistic director Bahareh Ardakani breaks the walls between Science and the Arts in an unprecedented manner by looking to the physics of couture to explore string theory.
Calabi-Yau is a visualization of how the multiple dimensions of string theory relate to one another, becoming the title and the foundation of the collection. Ardakani has long been inspired by the world of mathematics, often misunderstood by the unknowing eye, and used this collection as an expression of her curiosity.
She centralizes the collection around string theory’s sequencing of mathematically generated infinite loops, which lay flat to reveal flower petal shapes. The same effect is visualized across sculptural gowns with hourglass silhouettes, where each loop blooms into a petal shape in luxurious silk organza and satin. Superstrings, the foundation of string theory’s ten dimensions, are translated into bespoke embroidery bursting with a vibrating, natural rhythm. Crystals, sequins, and glass beads line the edges of curves, adding a kinetic gleam to cocktail and fishtail dresses. Pleating was also constructed based on superstring formations, with layers of silk organza coming together in a visual representation of multiple dimensions in space. The Maison pioneers a new technique of double embroidery, using layers of custom-made beads to create the effect of exploding light on a dress, tying in the imagination of the Big Bang.
Later,
