FASHION SHOWS

RALPH & RUSSO HAUTE COUTURE SPRING SUMMER 2015 PARIS FASHION WEEK

By Eddie Musson | 18:49

THE AWAKENING OF FLORA

LE RÉVEIL DE FLORE

With the approach of dawn, a freshness is felt in the air

and Flora, Goddess of Spring, awakens…

As she talks, her lips breathe spring roses, sprinkling the ways before her

with colours and with odours excellent…

Immortalised in Botticelli’s Primavera and Poussin’s Realm of Flora, the Goddess of Spring is celebrated by Ralph & Russo in a majestic collection that symbolises nature’s regenerative powers. For Spring/Summer 2015, the Ralph & Russo woman is an exultant deity, whose gifts lend themselves to delight.

Ralph & Russo enlist floral metamorphic myths as allegories of this collection. Alluring and fertile, the flower thematizes Haute Couture at its most abundant.

Acclaimed for its excellence in craftsmanship, this maison de couture inspires with bewitching embellishment, no holds barred. Traditional thread embroidery intertwines with metallic resin print, and individual petal appliqué sprouts organically from geometric pearl embroidery; meticulously fine and gleaming like dew. The colour palette – crisp and most sophisticated – is extracted from botanical brilliance: pomegranate pinks flirt playfully with soft mints and cornflower blues.
The collection also alludes to balletic exuberance. Sheaths of organza caress the body tenderly, and voluminous cloud-like gazar contrasts with fluid chiffons. Nyctinastic capes in jet black and midnight blue cocoon the body, fending off the night’s nectar thieves.

The fashion show is a procession and the models metamorphose into fairies and nymphs, gracefully collecting blossoms in their structured collars or scattering buds into the folds of their diaphanous gowns. The dresses are alive and limber. Oversized organza petals wrap the body sensuously and accumulate into magnificent blooms.

The rousing finalé is a bravado of handicraft; a blushing ombré extravagance, bearing a hybrid of traditional and modern adornment and laden with crystals, pearls and silver thread.

In a great creative leap and an exhilarating evolution a year on from their Paris debut, Tamara Ralph and Michael Russo present their clients with a cup of nectar and proclaim that Haute Couture wields perennial beauty and eternal youth.

I am deeply grateful to Kathryn Bell and Anisha Tailor who provided me with this press release and look-book of this tremendous , splendid and glorious collection. Unfortunately, I personally due to certain circumstances had to miss this defile.