It seems that Paris is going through a Trade Deficit in Fashion lately. Numerous Designers from outside of France are coming to Paris to take over French old Brands like Phoebe Philo at Céline, the revival of the centenary brand Madeleine Vionnet now shortened to just “Vionnet” by Rodolfo Paglialunga and recently Giles Deacon at Ungaro. They also often present their own Collection like Manish Arora from India and Gareth Pugh from the UK… Is Paris no longer able to produce and support a new generation of Fashion Designers?
In the meantime other Designers are beginning to occupy the market. One of them did an astonishing entry into the last Paris Fashion Week Show.
Pedro Lourenço, a Brazilian of 19 years old, presented his first Parisian Collection and cut the umbilical cord from his parents. Both of whom are considered Brazil’s leading designers; his Father Reinaldo Lourenço and his Mother Gloria Coelho. They never pushed him to enter in to the metier, but gave him all the tools and support he needed. He has designed clothing since the age of 12 and has been presenting his Collections in São Paulo since 2005!
And as for support, he has the best one can wish for…
- Brana Wolf, the American Harper’s Bazaar’s editor-at-large was not only supportive but also quite involved in his first presentation in Paris.
- KCD, the very affluent fashion’s prominent public relations and event production firm run by Ed Filipowski and Julie Mannion.
As an aggregate team effort, they were able to pull off a promising first collection. It showed a strong and assertive direction and quite mature for a 19 year old. Pedro told us in perfect English, that his influences were, “Diana the Huntress and the architect, Oscar Niemeyer.” Pedro also speaks a perfect French, Portuguese being his mother tongue.
He loves contemporary architecture, building materials and finds quite a few similarities in Fashion Design. The thick leather contrasts with a touch of metal, organza, velvet and rubber. Optical effects are given by the military applied ornament similar to Venetian Blinds, the range of colors he plays with: from beige, to dark brown, black and flesh-tones as well as see through organza tops with suspended leather geometrical trimming.
The model casting was also quite impressive for a first show in Paris. Getting the “It Girl” of the Paris Fashion Week: Jac to open his show, followed by Constance Jablonski (one of the new Estée Lauder’s faces), Jacklyn Jablonski, Sigrid Agren, etc…
But with all the support he gets, can he go wrong?
Financial difficulties and constraints are often compelling for the designer who has to find creative solutions to keep their businesses afloat…
Keep an eye on Pedro Lourenço, he might be the first ever son of known designers with talent and who is able to break through and last in the Fashion Industry.
Paris Fashion week is finally over and now is the time to determine the “Forrest Gump” Model of the season. I see a look coming out of the model agencies. A face with highly sculpted hard angles with hollow cheek bones and jaws protruding that are accentuated by make up and pulled back straight hair. Magdalena Frackowiakis a perfect example of “The Face”.
However this trend can lead to a very unhealthy and extremely skinny look. When I see how thin Fei Fei Sun has become (I mentioned her as part of the Rising Generation of Asian Models piece I wrote), where her face is looking gaunt and has lost its attractive roundness. Looking at her recent Polaroids should raise a red flag.
Some publishing groups are already taking action and are banning extremely thin models from their editorial pages. This new directive also affects established top models. It is in my opinion a step in the right direction, however I am not sure that the brands and designers will follow suit as a small head mounted on a pin like silhouette proportion tend to match the sketches that designers render for their creations.
The New Forrest Gump
Monika Jagaciak a.k.a. “Jac”at IMG is the girl of the season. I would be curious to know how many miles she covered if we add all the fashion weeks of the season she was featured in. This Baby Top Model with Avril Lavigne features is not listed as part of the Main Board of IMG, but still considered a “New Face” as a result of her age. I guess the fact that she was banned from previous Paris Fashion Weeks due to her age, has made her even more appealing and thus in greater demand this season. (London Fashion Week has banned under-16-year-old from its catwalks and, in France, a licence is required before an under-16-year-old can model).
Born in 1994, she was signed by IMG at the age of 13 and turned 16 in January. Last year, Vogue Australiaeditor Kirstie Clements decided to pull the plug on using “Jac” when they discovered her age and suggested that Australia follow Europe’s lead and impose a minimum age requirement of 16 years old for models.
Monika Jagaciak has previously appeared in ads forCalvin Klein and Hermès.
This happened in the past with ex Super Model: Brooke Shields who also represented the Calvin Klein brand at the age of 15.
Walk, Monika! Walk!
Some of the shows she was featured in Paris for the Fall-Winter 2011 Collections
Abbey Lee Kershaw @ Next
Alla Kostromicheva @ Women
Anja Rubik @ Next
Anna de Rijk @ Viva
Anna Selezneva @ Silent
Constance Jablonski @ Elite
Fei Fei Sun @ Elite
Freja Beha Erichsen @ IMG
Frida Gustavsson @ IMG
Heidi Mount @ IMG
Iris Strubegger @ Women
Jacquelyn Jablonski @ Elite
Karlie Kloss @ Next
Karmen Pedaru @ Next
Kasia Struss @ Women
Lara Stone @ IMG
Liu Wen @ Marilyn
Magdalena Frackowiak @ Elite
Maryna Linchuk @ Viva
Mirte Mass @ Women
Natasha Poly @ Women
Olga Sherer @ Nathalie
Patricia Van der Vliet @ Elite
Sasha Pivovarova @ IMG
Sigrid Agren @ Elite
Siri Tollerod @ Marilyn
Tao Okamoto @ Women
Vlada Roslyakova @ Women
