Vogue UK – 1er Mars 2018
Carven women’s fall winter 2018 19
by ANDERS CHRISTIAN MADSEN
You could recap the Carven show in its soundtrack. Mixed by Frédéric Sanchez, whose love of a mainstream pop song in a fashion show can be a rare gift on day 23 of the gruelling show season, it had all the louche beats of a high-fashion score. But here and there, almost like she was bursting through a barrier, Rihanna’s voice came through loud and clear, in “Love the Way You Lie”. At Carven, Serge Ruffieux, who came from the hallowed haute couture halls of Christian Dior, is posed with the challenge of bringing those values to a mid-market customer. In his sophomore collection, much like that soundtrack, he created a silhouette that borrowed from artisanal codes but constructed it in humble materials. “When I start a collection I always start on the body. I try to find a new proportion; a new silhouette,” he said. “It’s grounded, versatile, uplifting. Versatile, because it’s important to me to mix raw fabrics with something refined.”
It was expressed most palpably in garments hybridising two familiar pieces, like a jacket half quilted and half plaid, structured to kick out at the back in a couture-like gesture. Or how about a mid-market tweed suit so sculpted it looked like it had been statuesquely cast on the body? This is a designer, who knows what he’s doing. Ruffieux understands the social media era’s peculiar balance between mainstream commerciality and the desire for one-of-a-kind things that bear the touch of a real human hand. It’s reflected in the limited edition streetwear kids queue up for outside cult brand stores, in personalised phone covers, or the countless videos from haute couture shows that make the rounds online. Beautifully made fashion is no longer the privilege of the few, and in his interpretation of an accessible and attainable brand like Carven, Ruffieux captures that mentality pretty effortlessly. “The message is real clothes for real women,” he said. “That’s very important to me.”
