In astrology the water signs – Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces – are marked by a marked sensitivity is strong intuition. Guided by their sensations, people born under the constellation of one of these three signs are very loyal and compassionatethey have deep imaginationbut manage to maintain, despite the fluctuating emotional state, a enigmatic component. Perhaps because it is adaptable and elusive, perhaps because it is linked to the mysterious underwater world, the inherent fluidity of water has inspired countless catwalk looks and real works of art, such as the creative project “Salt Years” by Sigalit Landauthe artist who immersed heels and dresses in the Dead Sea for twenty years to cover them with crystallized salt, signifying an analogy of transmutative love and of one future peaceful coexistence between peoples. Let’s see together who, besides Landau, are the creatives who have managed to unite the world of fashion with the strong sense of sensuality and mystery that envelops the element of water, from prints to experimental exhibitions.
Submerged walkways, or almost
Although the beach is unquestionably a place of relaxation, meditation, calm and recreation, the fashion industry has managed to portray it on the catwalk in a dark and dark way. “It’s the darkest show I’ve ever done,” the creative director of had explained to Vogue Balenciaga, Demna Gvasalia, in the backstage of the FW2020. Lights-out rooms were flooded with water up to the second row of seating to present a collection that drew inspiration from the designer’s Georgian roots, clerical dress and the distinctive codes of the Catholic religion. The water floor of the walkway reflected the fiery red ceilinggiving the atmosphere the apocalyptic sense which has always fascinated Gvasalia. This stage trick had also been used by Anthony Vaccarello the previous year for the SS19 fashion show by Saint Laurentbut in that case it was the backdrop for 60s and 70s dresses that evoked the years of sexual liberation and the power of sensuality, and before that, to immerse the glamorous audience in water, it had been Karl Lagerfeldwhich for the SS12 fashion show by Chanel had devised – along with nothing less than Zaha Hadid – a set inspired by an underwater reality adorning the Grand Palais with large white and transparent sculptures, also hosting the voice of Florence Welch on the notes of “What the Water Gave Me” in a half shell, Venus style by Botticelli.
Pearls, stars and sharks
Inspired by the painter Jean-Honoré Fragonard, in 1992 Gianni Versace has revisited the printed silks – that his customers had loved so much in the 80s – reproposing with nostalgia “Tresors de la mer,” the motif in shades of blue and gold from which also Donatella Versace he then drew inspiration for his collections, as it is a code well imprinted in the minds of those who love the Maison. The SS1992 looks created by Gianni Versace combined haute couture with the innocent simplicity of materials such as denim causing a stir – to describe the collection Vogue wrote «Versace calls it ‘romantic rock’ or ‘chic and shock’» – later taken up by the sister for the SS21 in voluminous silhouettes and pop colors.
Similarly, also the English designer Simon Rocha took inspiration from the elements of the sea, even if in a more romantic sense, using pearls as a metaphorical image until they become a distinctive trait of his brand. For the FW20 line, Rocha has decided to dedicate its designs to situations where water plays a central rolehow’s that of birth and baptism. Looking at the play Riders to the Sea, written by JM Synge on life in the Irish Aran Islands, the looks thus combined the cream color of the wool with the reflective one of the mother of pearl. A year after Rocha’s presentation, driven by the dream of a freedom lost following the advent of the pandemic, Richard Tisci he painted the collection of Burberry SS21 like “a love story between a shark and a mermaid.” The shark in question, an animal much loved by the designer, however represented something threatening: the terror of loneliness felt by the whole world during the lockdown, translated, according to Tisci’s language, into blue color.
McQueen, Chalayan and Van Herpen
Perhaps one of the most memorable fashion shows in fashion history, Plato’s Atlantisi.e. the SS10 of Alexander McQueenportrayed a surreal atmosphere directly inspired by one alien and submarine show. The dresses reflected the vibrant colors on the runway in an almost blinding way, the hairstyles looked like tall and scary fins, the makeup it imitated the gills of fish with prostheticsand the sky-high heels – famously worn by Lady Gaga for the video clip of bad Romance – they took up the rounded shape of the armor of the animal from which they took their name, Armadillo. With imaginaries related to naturalistic landscapes and fauna, McQueen has invented a apocalyptic landscapeshowing the future of a new civilization born after the ecological destruction of the modern world.
Two years later, the world discovered the aquaticity of fabrics from Iris Van Herpen during the SS11 fashion show, organized by the Amsterdam Center for Architecture for join the minds of architects and designers. Together with Benthem Crouwel Architects, Van Herpen designed a look that it realistically replicated the look of water, ushering in that moment what still makes the designer unique in her work; the Splash dress – together with the rest of the Crystallization collection – was the first 3D printed dress from the designer, a technological and textile avant-garde work that challenges the limits of sartorial possibilities. Just this year it was inaugurated Carte Blanchethe film created in collaboration with the artist Julie Gautier That explore the idea of femininitybeauty, and courage of women, choreographically immersing the models and voluminous dresses in deep basins of water, confirming the strong attraction that Herpen feels for the element.
We could not finish this article without mentioning another of the most innovative designers of recent years, Hussein Chalayan. In his case, water was used for the presentation of SS16 more like a medium that as inspiration: two showers built in the center of the catwalk that lit up during the show and soaked two models and their clothes, entirely made of paper. When water came into contact with the paper the looks have melted awayrevealing white evening gowns embroidered with black Swarovski. «It was about representing the transformation of a militant type situation (in Cuba) into a more playful one,» Chalayan explained backstage, “I liked the idea of using water. Because, of course, in Cuba there is the sea.