Belgian designer Christian Wijnants started putting his stamp on Maison Ullens fashion this season, as he steps into the role of its artistic director.
“I love the Maison Ullens because of its love for beautiful, very rich fibers and materials,” he said. “So I really want to [pay] homage to nature.”
Wijnants thought of landscapes that inspire him, and that conjured up images in his head of Canada’s Sable Island, where wild horses roam. Natural parks like Yellowstone bubbled up, too, with their volcanic colors that helped create the palette of this season’s fashion, including lots of browns.
This collection is lush with sophisticatedly textured fabrics, such as crushed viscose and creased cotton, and lots of cashmere.
“There’s this natural elegance, sophistication,” said Wijnants.
That’s an apt description. He crafted a finely tailored suit of wool that was worked to appear as Japanese denim. In another look, the denim-like trousers are topped with a lemon-yellow sweater made of woven strips of cashmere.
“I hope I can bring to the maison my expertise in knitwear,” said the designer, who is starting to mine Maison Ullens’ archives. He said that he adores the house’s “subtle” and “poetic” approach to fashion.
This collection offers a wide-ranging wardrobe, replete with outerwear, skirts and dresses.
Source: WWD