LE VOILE DE LA MARIÉE

The Spring/Summer 2019 collection entitled “Le Voile de la Mariée" offers a space to memory, a space that authorises the past to print itself and to live again in the present. Like a childhood fairy tale, this space is thought of as a wondrous reflection of the transient experience of memory and recollection. 

Le Voile de la Mariée ( The Bride’s Veil) is a cascading waterfall found on the Reunion Island which sits close to the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar. The waterfall is located at approximately 500 meters in altitude along the rampart mountain. 

Born and raised in Paris, Gauthier Petit comes from an ancestral lineage of Reunionese, especially her grandmother who inspired her in becoming a fashion designer. 

The seasonal print is a mirage of a childhood landscape wrapped in a wreath of roses, blended with Parisian iconic details, such as the Medicis vase, in an azulejo framework, illustrating a cross-connect between European aesthetics and the landscape of the islands. 

“Le Voile de la Mariée for me is the return to nature, water, purity and myself. My collections are very personal and this season I wanted to return to the Reunion Island. The place where I spent many years of my early childhood. I want to offer a part of myself as opposed to looking at trends or being too thematic this season. I also saw changes to the way our collections are produced to leave a smaller print on the earth as current affairs are reminding us that the earth is a “limited” resource.” 

The Reunion Island sits on a active volcano setting a reminder to its people that nature is in control over global technological speed.

“We need to return to nature again. We have lost ourselves in technological speed and synthetic ways of operating. There is so much talk about speed in culture and we are being overwhelmed with technology. Reflecting the time is also contributing to the time. I wanted to be as pure as I could with this collection. I guess I just wanted to take a different turn. The majority of this collection is composed of organic fibres.” 

The collection presents a selection of block bold colours from pea green, electric blue to canary yellow, continuing in the the house’s direction in developing a signature high waist via tailored but highly feminine proportions, this season almost reminiscent of 70s workwear. 

“ The liberation of women in the 70s was quite a turn for woman in France. Woman found themselves working at a faster speed as France opened its doors to globalisation. Marriage was less crucial as a means of survival and tradition.” 

Working with structured boiler suits through to fluid silk kimonos, the collection moves into more organic and pure compositions made of english embroidery, cotton gabardine and navy stripped linen. Specific fastenings and closures were made in the collection pantone, designed to magnify the feminine silhouette but also facilitate the easy nature of dressing and undressing in a fast-paced environment. 

“I enjoy creating the cross over between tailored shapes crossed with ‘flou’ that is completely off the body. The challenge is to balance a rigorous structure whilst offering a sense of fluidity.”