Marc Le Bihan: His Own Kind of Goth
By Mari Davis
(Photo by Javier Mateo)
PARIS, Oct 7, 2003/ FW/ --- Marc Le Bihan continues to be an experimentalist during his Spring / Summer 2004 collection with his theatrical presentation at the Le Carrousel du Louvre held today at the City of Lights.
With make-believe white sand beach (the runway was covered with white sand), and all the house lights turned off, the show started with all the models standing still like living mannequins.
A voice from nowhere shouted ‘Action!’ the spotlights were turned on and the first model moved, floating like a ballerina, traversing the runway, while she went around the other models as if lightly touching them.
Once, she was out of sight, the next model did the same thing, repeating the first model’s movement.
One by one, the other models followed suit, until there was one model left. The music changed to breaking glass hitting the surf, and the story unfolded.
A pair of lovers came out, strolling at the beach wearing matching black clothes, adorned with knots.
Then a single dancer/model came out. She caught the eye of the man. The two lovers separated. And the man ‘chased’ the other woman.
Another pair of lovers came out, but this time they are true to each other. And in the act of love making, expressed only in the dance, they started to ‘tear’ out each other’s clothes.
The background music changed to the sound of scissors cutting, as the models ‘peel’ off all the knots in their clothing, revealing very wearable outfits.
And that is what Marc Le Bihan was trying to tell. Bolts of fabric, when properly cut and sewn reveal very wearable clothes.
The whole collection was dark, based on black & white color palette. It had all the elements of Goth, with one pair of lovers looking like the lead cast of Adams Family.
Yet it was not totally Goth because the models’ make up was ‘bronzed and tan,’ reminiscent of beach denizens.
Memorable looks were the bridal gowns shown at the end. There were two pairs of bride and groom – one pair wore the traditional white and one pair was wearing an all black ensemble.
An interesting take on a bridal look, to say the least. If you add the beach setting to the equation, the Gothic quality of the black bridal gown is thrown to you like a curve ball.
Marc Le Bihan’s presentation might be hard to understand. His theatrical presentation and bolts of fabric that looked like knots make one wonder what the collection was all about.
Yet in the end, after the models figuratively peeled off the ‘unwanted’ knots, what is revealed is a genuinely detailed and beautiful dress worthy to be worn by any or all beautiful women.
Marc Le Bihan
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