Feel the heat | Steffie Christiaens

Paris Fashion Week –

I first met Steffie during Festival de la Mode d’Hyères two years ago (she was a finalist alongside Maxime Simoens). Since then i was very interested by her work.

The young designer has sureley something to achieve with « elementals » and nature. In 2009 the garments were under the influence of the wind. Two years after, for her first collection, it’s all about the fire, the « heat » say Steffie, a collection about the effects of the heat on the material.

So as in Hyères in 2009, the garments are distorted, have torsions like little eruptions. These effects are not easy to render and Steffie is doing it very well.

The creations of Steffie are futuristics but not too caricatural, a difficult exercice and reminds me sometimes, 1997’s « Bump and Mind » collection from Rei Kawakubo.

Below, swirls like dancing flames on the grey jacket and on the cobalt blue dress.

See the flames below (use yourimagination)? Some of her conceptual silhouettes is like sculptures (shaped by the heat), an interesting 3D work on the volume and shape.

The chromatic choice could be surprising as for heat you expect hot colours (yellow, red, orange…) but here it’s cobalt blue for the center of the flame and black for coal…