Hussein Chalayan Melted Dresses Under Showers in Paris
The showers at Hussein Chalayan’s SS16 show revealed glittering party dresses. Photo: Getty Images
Three weeks into fashion month, Hussein Chayalan managed to do something totally new on his runway in Paris on Friday morning—give his models a shower. Or two models, to be specific. The duo stood in a square in the middle of his runway wearing white paper dresses that didn’t look like much. Chayalan’s Cuba-inspired collection made its way around the paper-clad models until splash!
The water from the showers melted the jackets, revealing sparkling party dresses underneath, made in collaboration with Swarovski.
“That was to represent the transformation of a militant kind of situation [in Cuba] to a more playful one,” Chalayan told Vogue after the show. He said there were a lot of challenges using water on a runway—a runway’s slippery when dry, let alone wet, and the girls were visibly chilled—but that he likes taking risks. Which, if you’ve ever read anything about a Chalayan show is pretty obvious. In 2011 he showed a floating dress that didn’t even need a model. And years before that, in 2007, he produced what looked like a halo around one model, via an LED sheath. Both of which were also made in collaboration with Swarovski.
This morning, Tom Ford’s hard-partying music video suggested that the runway was over. But within hours, Chalayan proved there are some things you have to see in person to believe.
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day.
