AFTER a manic six months and a collection shrouded in mystery, Marine Serre had her runway debut at Paris Fashion Week. Since winning the LVMH Prize for Young Designer back in June 2017, Serre’s career has skyrocketed to the top. With the success, of course, has come serious hard work in the run up to fashion weeks, and her highly anticipated AW18 collection was at last revealed, and rather appropriately titled – Manic Soul Machine.
Expressing her experiences over the past year with launching her own label, the collection is a reflection of a growing awareness of the link between production and consumer. Serre went down the route of upcycling, transforming second hand scarves into beautifully purposeful accessories. Her crescent moon logo was printed on full body stockings as we saw in her SS18 Cornerstones collection, only this time much more exaggerated, wrapping the body head to toe, some even over the head and covering the face. The motif was also printed on leggings paired with fresh white sneakers or ankle boots.
There were see-through raincoats in plastic, and some deep red quilted velvet. Midi skirts had thick frilled hemlines, denim was dark wash, and accessories included neon yellow rimmed sunglasses and strange spherical bags made from the printed scarves.
The text which read Futurewear across a scuba tank top or a floaty maxi skirt may have summed up the collection. Serre is all about fashion with meaning, and perhaps these logos were a nod to the new generation who are engaged, informed, and armoured in their clothes – ready to take on the world like Serre is doing so at just 26 years old.
by Grace Calton