Ann Demeulemeester Ready-to-Wear Fall 2018. Paris Fashion Week
“…And in my dream methought I went
To search out what might there be found;
And what the sweet bird’s trouble meant,
That thus lay fluttering on the ground.
I went and peered, and could descry
No cause for her distressful cry;
But yet for her dear lady’s sake
I stooped, methought, the dove to take,
When lo! I saw a bright green snake
Coiled around its wings and neck.
Green as the herbs on which it couched,
Close by the dove’s its head it crouched;
And with the dove it heaves and stirs,
Swelling its neck as she swelled hers!
I woke; it was the midnight hour,
The clock was echoing in the tower;
But though my slumber was gone by,
This dream it would not pass away—
It seems to live upon my eye!”
(Christabel by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, 1797/1800)
Sébastien Meunier for Ann Demeulemeester Fall 2018 Ready-to-Wear maintains the dark and brooding that is the Gothic and romantic stylization which as discussed in my review of Ann Demeulemeester men’s Fall 2018, Meunier has sourced the inspiration of William Blake and the like (Lord Byron), that offered a very well rounded perspective of rebellion. And it is a humanist rebellion, rather than a divisiveness which is the common aliment within its conception of todays populous, man against woman, woman against man, man against nature, nature against man and woman. A vexed and stressed reality that does not have to be that way. Even though we shouldn’t dwell on the past, there are at times an inspiring aspect that holds its roots within our creativity which in turn always gives insight into the human psyche. Aspects of Romanticism and Gothic literature of yesteryear explored the darker regions of our fears, joys, pleasure and pain. Which is, as Friedrich Nietzsche once stated, “Human, All Too Human.”
Meunier has described that from the “innocence” of the Fall 2018 men’s collection, he wanted to exude, with this female collection, more of an “experience”, to me, it appears that experience is the desirability of the Femme Fatale. Despite this Fall 2018 collection for Ann Demeulemeester drawing from the influences of the darker Gothic aspects of Mary Shelley’s writings. The fatal woman, which by its definition is a contemporary term, encapsulated via the poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge (D1834) one of the founders of the early Romanticism movement that inscribes the story of Christabel and her encounter of the mysterious demonic female character Geraldine.
Ann Demeulemeester Ready-to-Wear Fall 2018 is one the most dark and intense collections from creative director Sébastien Meunier , it has a vampiric appeal, with its cold and dark embrace, that paradoxically, represents the deathly chill of the female supernatural which also can be seen as comfort within a morbid encounter, despite it appearing inhuman, it is still the antihero. And of course as mentioned, the antihero from a feminine perspective is the Fatal Woman. A killer.
Mostly fine wool blends, leather. Sleek and streamlined styles, layered with achromatic dualities of black and white, as white reflects light and black absorbs. There is a warrior pose in some of the collections, with reinforced leather corsets and sabre style elbow cloves. Beautifully textured cotton and lyocell sheer tops, draped and fitted with precision over the models.
A stunning collection.
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