On Aura Tout Vu: Smart Cars
By: Timothy Hagy
(Photo by Reuters/John Schults)
PARIS, Jan 21, 2003/ FW/ --- On Aura Tout Vu, a label with the translation "You'll see everything" is designed by three friends, all in their 20s: Livia, Yassen and André.
Today marked their official baptism into the Paris Haute Couture scene, and they chose the Smart Car center just steps away from the Palais de Chaillot as the venue for their first show.
Anyone who has seen a Smart Car will observe that it has the unique capacity to park vertically between two gas-guzzlers, those hulks abandoned by inconsiderate drivers who've not left enough space in between. Ironically this afternoon, On Aura Tout Vu was sandwiched between the Dior show, which began two hours late, and the Gaultier show, which followed.
Poor young Livia, Yassen and André, caught between the two biggest gas-guzzlers of all.
Be that as it may, their modest show got off after a long delay, when the President of the French Federation of Couture, Didier Grumbach, rushed back from the Bois de Bologne to give moral support.
And you have to hand it to the enthusiasm of youth. We are now well into the 21st Century, and one major Couture House, namely Jean-Paul Gaultier, doesn't even have email. The bulk of the other press officers don't know how to use it. So, it would seem that Generation Y would indeed be brave to fight an uphill battle into this market.
But never underestimate the determination of youth.
A state of the art Bose sound system pumped out a fantastic soundtrack in surround sound, driven by an 80s disco beat. Program notes suggested that the design team had been in the laboratory continuing research and experiments, throwing caution to the wind. "Funky divas, cool chicks, asymmetric silhouettes wearing iridescent maxi turbans and gloved with techno mittens: customized, metallised, plastified, cut-out, off their rockers..."
What came out to the showroom floor was a collection that not only stopped traffic outside the display windows, but within seconds had attracted a large audience, pressing against the window in a stupefied gaze.
An asymmetric jacket of superimposed woven fabrics with panels of reflecting materials, worn with a mini-skirt in wild silk embroidered with sequins, set the tone for what was to follow.
The bizarre collection at times had a strange beauty to it, at other times it seemed garish and homespun. The crushed aluminum hats affixed with all manner of road signs, as well as the "brocade" of No U-Turn signs affixed to metallic fabric were low points.
On the other hand, the perfectly gorgeous wedding dress flowing in silk taffeta, embroidered with sequins, gave a clear signal of true talent underneath all the distraction.
At best, the collection was uneven; at worst, much of it was probably slightly less wearable than the most extreme pieces by John Galliano.
Yet, the team has talent, and once they decide which direction to take, watch out for much success down the road a bit.
To end off the afternoon, a hoop dress inset with a toy racing set, was probably eclipsed by the Smart Car, decorated in Lalique crystal, and pushed down the runway by André and Yassen, with Livia in the driver's seat.
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