THE nostalgia felt by Ulyana Surgeenko was heartfelt in her Fall 2017 couture unveiling in Paris. Harking back to the clothing desired and, indeed, worn by matriarchs, grandmothers and adored aunts who have influenced her life and ambitions, Surgeenko presented a romanticised perspective of past times.
Hosted in the gardens of Lycée Henri-IV, looks were bleached by the stark sunshine of a Paris priming itself for a corker of a summer was a jarring contrast to the predominantly black collection. More than just a chic choice of colour palette however, the heavy black was a confident nod to the film noir influences that became increasingly cinematic but not pastiche from the get-go.
From the start, silhouettes were bloated by fedoras that would find a reasonable home on the head of Lauren Bacall, rimming her sultry glare, and then fortified below by padded shoulders or fox trimmed collar.
The boudoir then saw the light of day with dresses created vampishly around voluptuous corsets. Even if this was Ulyana’s ode to yesteryear, the women among her bloodline have always set pulses racing.
The rest of the contemporary costume-esque couture put their puts across seriously in forties silhouettes that marked a serious time in modern history. Her couture, beyond it’s beautiful and intensely luxurious exterior, also evoked feelings of a female power that only the likes of Surgeenko seem able to convey with such class.
by Livia Feltham