Maitrepierre RTW Spring 2024
“We are the first generation to be aware of living in a world with limited resources,” said Alphonse Maîtrepierre.
But for the 28-year-old designer, this needs not be a dystopia. Instead, he picked up where he left off last season, wondering what teenagers might look like in 100 or 200 years, imagining that “this new generation will fuse with nature.”
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The show opened with solid black silhouettes, representing the material leftovers of our time turned into valuable resources, and closed with opera singer Dima Bawab performing Puccini’s “O Mio Babbino Caro a cappella,” “a declaration to one’s child, so it carries the idea of the next generation,” he said.
In between, there were cropped jackets collaged with brassieres and baggy pants blended with boxer shorts, as well as separates made of pleated parachute silk that was a stand-in for crinkled paper. Cake boxes were turned into purses, as a metaphor for turning today’s trash into tomorrow’s must-have.
Eyewear marked the transition between eras with futuristic upcycled frames in collaboration with accessories brand Clara Besnard leading into softer looks, pleated and printed with butterfly markings that mimicked the creature when it motion.
The idea that we may turn nomadic was telegraphed by hiking backpacks, turned here into a sculptural tailored suit, there into a cone-breasted bustier with a sweetheart neckline.
These in particular were deftly executed, but easier constructions — bias-cut dresses, pleated separates — didn’t pale in comparison, solidifying Maitrepierre’s increasingly steady hand in construction and execution.
Beyond his own label, the designer will be reprising his Desigual collaboration for a third chapter, slated to be released in the fall of 2024.
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Launch Gallery: Maitrepierre RTW Spring 2024
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