Torrente by Julien Fournié: A Creative Turn
By Mari Davis

PARIS, Jan 19, 2004/ FW/ --- Julien Fournié continues to bring the House of Torrente into a creative turn with his first ever Haute Couture collection for the house. If you enjoyed his Spring 2004 ready-to-wear collection, the Spring 2004 haute couture pieces will leave your mouth watering for more.

On a cold winter day, the House of Torrente kicked off the Spring 2004 Paris haute couture season at the Palais Brongniart.

Guests came pouring in early, and quietly fell in line, happy to be out of the cold. When they were led inside to their seats facing an all black runway, there was still a little shivering and sighs from the cold outside.

But when the music started and the first model walked out of the runway, the cold winter was forgotten, because Julien Fournié presented a collection that can only be said “as hot as summer in July.”

Entitled, “Paris-Oz Collection,” the show notes stated that it was inspired “from the world of fantasy, and an initiatory journey in which the confrontation of phobias works a true catharsis, so that we can acknowledge how our fears fascinate and enthrall us, but fill us with wonder, too.”

Starting with the opening piece called the “New Torrente suit,” Julien Fournié’s choice of midnight guanaco, pashima and cashmere, with chevron-effect baguette trousers paired with a jacket with a fake collar and back vent was a winner.

Embellished with knotted ribbons and facetted sapphire glasses and midnight Salome, the suit is truly a sight to behold.

He also played on our phobias, as he promised when he presented the “Voodoo witch.”

Made of whalebone combi-trousers with double martingale in black silk drape, it was paired with an evening tail shirt in black silk organza with musketeer cuffs and pleated poplin shirtfront with “fins.”

The model was holding a femur, which was actually fiberglass shape like a bone, and unicorn clogs made of the same material. It was like a scene from a movie, which has a scary effect; yet, no one can discount the beautiful clothes.

Maybe, that is where Julien Fournié’s genius lays – his ability to create something beautiful straight from his imagination.

It is still very early too tell what this young and very talented designer can do. After all, this is only his second collection for the house. But from what we have seen so far, it is a safe bet that Julien Fournié has a very bright future ahead of him!

Julien Fournié backstage