Elite Traveler March-April 2016

INFLUENCE FASHION COLUMN

elite traveler MAR/APR 2016 52

Themost fashionable topic of discussion in the fashion world today? How tomeld the past, present and future, and how to incorporate wearable tech on to the runways without seeming gimmicky. Our writer Laurie Brookins searches for the answer Laurie Brookins on wearable tech

that’s masterful in its ability to fuse a postmodern aesthetic into pieces that also promise to be instant classics. Ghesquière offers up this tricky combination brilliantly in bright pink leather moto jackets, fishnet-like laser cuts in layered pieces that are as tough as they are delicate plus metallics that feel futuristic without veering into costume territory. Prada also knows about channeling postmodern sensibilities. She’s a devout lover of contemporary art, and her Fondazione Prada outside Milan showcases a treasure trove of installations featuring Steve McQueen, Laurie Anderson and others, all housed in a building by Rem Koolhaas. This appreciation increasingly wends its way into her signature Prada and Miu Miu collections. The theme seems to have a discordant vibe, as though she revels in shaking things up and making us uncomfortable with her combinations of colors, patterns and silhouettes. At Prada, Spring’s graphic stripes are bright and bold and not for the faint of heart. If you feel nervous, she seems to say, it’s because you’re experiencing something new. At Chanel, Lagerfeld seems to be forever winking at us, deploying a deft hand with ideas you don’t encounter elsewhere. This season, there’s an undeniable futurism, not only in his silver patent leather belts and bags, but also in the way he plays with silhouettes. This is rendered in the label’s iconic bouclé tweed in boxy proportions that feel instantly modern and casual. In Chanel’s Fall/Winter 2015 haute couture collection, Lagerfeld explores his fascination with 3D printing, using the technology to create a laser cut, quilt-like fabrication, fashioned as boxy jackets with rounded shoulders. It was the artisans, however, who ensured each sleeve was set so the center point of its poinsettia-like quilting pattern was impeccably positioned at the edge of the shoulder. Some things, after all, still only can be perfected by hand.

Louis Vuitton

More designers than ever are exploring how to balance time honored traditions and a passion for handcraft with tech-centric elements that feel seamlessly integrated, rather than incorporated to attract attention. They don’t appear to have come up with a good enough solution quite yet. We’ve seen plenty of the gimmicky varieties in recent seasons – miniskirts set aglow in neon LED via an app on your iPhone and dresses that change shape depending on your biometrics. Frankly they seem better suited to the sci-fi world than the runways. Still, they’re fun additions to an important dialogue that centers on one question: As “wearable tech” becomes a be-all catchphrase, how does fashion move forward smartly and intuitively? New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art has stirred up the conversation with the upcoming exhibition at its Costume Institute, manus x machina: fashion in an age of technology , which debuts during its annual gala on May 2. As its Latin-leading title implies, this examination of the hand versus machine debate will consider how the

precise traditions born out of haute couture are forever moving forward and marrying with technology. With examples dating from an 1880s Charles Frederick Worth gown through to the present day, purists will appreciate the reverent approach – no one who loves fashion enjoys the thought that handwork might disappear – while tech enthusiasts will be able to geek out over elements like the 3D printed garments that will be crafted in an on-site workshop over the course of the exhibition. Apple is the exhibition’s primary sponsor. The trio of designers serving as honorary chairpersons of manus x machina are the pinnacle of fashion’s vanguard: Nicolas Ghesquière, Karl Lagerfeld and Miuccia Prada. Each is a visionary in his or her own right, yet each one consistently produces forward thinking ideas that are as saleable as they are surprising. For Spring/Summer 2016 at Louis Vuitton, Ghesquière fixates on his fascination with all things digital. The result? Equal parts anime, cyberpunk and Blade Runner , it’s a collection

Prada

Laurie Brookins is a New York-based fashion journalist and stylist

Chanel