Tuesday 31 January 2012

Emerging Designers: Who to look out for in 2012 (4)

Piece d'Anarchive



Anarchy is a word that now, all thanks to the Sex Pistols, depicts a historical movement in British pop culture, yet if anyone knows how to kickstart a revolution it's the French. Under the mask of 'Piece d'Anarchive', three young Parisian renegades are bringing anarchy back home with a 'coup d'etat' on luxe couture.

The new label, 'Piece d'Anarchive', an amalgamation of 'anarchy' and 'archive', does what it says on the tin. It combines French fashion heritage with a riotus mix of tribal and boyfriend style pieces. Co-founder, Virginie Muys told British Vogue, 'It's a juxtaposition of order and chaos.'

The brand was formed last year after a chance meeting between Virginie Muys and sisters Priscilla, who has worked on the design teams as Erdem and Westwood previously, and Deborah Royer, a former product designer for Armani and Cacharel.

The debut collection for S/S 2012 takes a playful and mischievous approach to knitwear, combining familiar modern and vintage silhouettes with unexpected textures and stitches. The tactful trio persuaded one of France's last remaining knit factories, which works alongside many French Luxury Houses, to take on their production. Priscilla dug into her personal archives for the collection, incorporating up to four different stitches in one particular item.

The influences for the S/S line was as diverse as the sloppy-joe style knit pieces. The silk running shorts and loose shirts are inspired by the effortless laid back boyfriend look, the contrasting feminine lace knickers and puff sleeved dresses ooze of Parisian vintage chic, whereas other pieces depict tribal ceremonies, such as scarification. This is shown through graphic patterns, a neckline of animal teeth and purposely hand-made costumes for rituals. The body con skirt, almost grass like in texture, echoes of the flower-men tribe in Yemen and Saudi Arabia. The chaotic explosion of influences is tamed by the monochrome tones of pieces, allowing the dynamic stitches and clashing textures to do all the talking.

It may only be months since the debut collection was released but the power and talent of this rebellious trio has not gone unnoticed. The lasting impression made by the first collection has resulted in Piece d'Anarchive finding it's way onto the stock lists of Colette and 10 Corso Como. The brand is also due to be sold overseas in the US. I think it is safe to say that we will be hearing a lot more from Piece d'Anarchive in 2012.


Image from purple DIARY 

1 comment:

  1. the lines this top creates are so amazing

    http://underthefluorescents.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete