There can certainly still exist a nirvana when the rules are broken, the patterns and lines of conformity not adhered to and when one marches outside of the normal drum's beat. Nirvana is an interesting choice of word to describe the peacefully familiar and visually perverse Dries Van Noten Spring 2013 Women's Collection that heavily took inspiration from the clashing plaids and feminine florals made popular by assuredly smitten Courtney Love and the tortured late great Kurt Cobain. Love in a hopeless place, perhaps. There is also a nirvana in riding the wave of masculine strength with feminine lines to achieve a newfound exuberance of roaring female altogether. Haider Ackermann's Spring 2013 Collection was a call to the defiant confident swagger of Marlene Dietrich and the braggadocio swagger of a salivating learned playboy all mingling around the sensuality of the female form. Love in a hopeless place, perhaps. Two very different collections with the message of taking the reigns and asserting a belief that there are many parts some disjointed, some cohesive, some masculine in theory and some nurturing like Mother Earth, to a strong woman.
Dries Van Noten
Pattern juxtaposing, texture and transparency find a familiar harmony through color, layering and nostalgia.
Haider Ackermann
Modern elegant strength through texture, feminized menswear cuts and graphic print play.