Dear Shaded viewers,
For his SS25 collection, Stephane Rolland looks to two artists who transformed and liberated the cultural landscape of the 20th century. In their distinctive art forms, Constantin Brancusi and Josephine Baker were leaders in freedom of expression, introducing Paris and their respective worlds of art to a new way of thinking about form and translating the human experience. Focusing on fundamental elements of couture, Rolland emphasises smooth curves and organic lines, giving his gowns the lightness of Baker’s dance and Brancusi’s cubist reductions. White tunics and cape dresses seem to breathe, with the elegance of transparency freeing the body.
Josephine Baker was adored internationally, defying social boundaries and challenging the conventions of race and sexuality through her performances. Her boldness and elegance are represented in Rolland’s work through powerful shoulders and the reimagined structures of tuxedos in gazar and satin. Handfuls of burned feathers and wood embroidered around the body seem to erupt like a raw and passionate expression of emotion.
Constantin Brancusi created polished, abstract sculptures that represented the core of each of his subjects in their purest form. Light was essential to his work, able to communicate more than can be said symbolically, his sleek surfaces reacted to it. In Rolland’s SS25 collection, sleek white tunics and chiffon dresses feature smooth sculptural silhouettes around the body. Organza pleats, gold embroidery and fringe falling from the waistline move organically. In his own way, Rolland provides an abstraction of the human form. Slivers of gold and silver in polished chest plates and intricate embroideries reference Brancusi’s masterpieces.
Under the spotlight, Rolland brings Brancusi and Baker to life once more. His tribute has captured the essence of their work, allowing fashion to become the medium for their message.
Later,
Eliya
