Fashion Month ended a few days ago, so today I’m covering Paris Fashion Week. I’ll be talking about designers’ backstories and their collections, so if you ever wanted to know what designers are inspired by and how they got to where they are today, then this post is for you!

CHRISTIAN WIJNANTS

WHO IS CHRISTIAN WIJNANTS?

Christian Wijnants is a Belgium designer. In 1996, he moved to Antwerp to study fashion design at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts. Wijnants graduated in 2000 and his graduate collection won the Dries van Noten Award for best collection. When he presented his collection at the Festival d’Hyères, he was awarded the Grand Prix and it was picked up by several stores in Paris, London, and Tokyo.

In 2003, he launched his eponymous label and started presenting twice a year at Paris Fashion Week. Wijnants sells his pieces at stores around the world and has won many awards over the years. This collection marks his 16th year since launching his own brand.

THE FALL 2019 COLLECTION

This season’s collection was bright and featured many prints. Wijnants used a mixture of stripes, plaid, and large floral print in his pieces and even blended them in together to look like patchwork. The main hues were rich purple, bright green, and light and dark blues. All of the looks were completed with mid-calf boots in a variety of colors. I really enjoyed all the colors and how he mixed the prints together.

You can see the whole collection here.

HAIDER ACKERMANN

WHO IS HAIDER ACKERMANN?

Haider Ackermann was born in Columbia in 1971, but was adopted by a French family. His childhood was spent in Africa and France before their family moved to the Netherlands.

In 1994, Ackermann was inspired by Yves Saint Laurent and moved to Belgium to study fashion design at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp. However, he was expelled in 1997 due to his perfectionism inhibiting him from finishing his collections. He was an apprentice to John Galliano for five months and then became an assistant for a Belgian fashion designer named Wim Neels. Over the years, he was able to work for other brands such as Patrick Van Ommeslaeghe and Bernard Wilhelm. He then went on to become a designer for Mayerline.

LAUNCHING HIS OWN LABEL AND COMING TO PARIS FASHION WEEK

Ackermann created his first womenswear collection and presented it at Paris Fashion Week in 2001. He launched his own label in 2002 and 2 years later, he won the Swiss Textiles award. His talent was recognized by big names such as Dior and Karl Lagerfeld; he was approached by Dior to be a successor and Lagerfeld also saw him as a successor to his brand.

He has continued to launch women’s lines and only presented one menswear collection in 2010. He doesn’t plan on doing another menswear collection unless the inspiration is there. In addition, Ackermann’s childhood travels has influenced much of his designs; he blends different cultures together through various silhouettes and draping.

THE FALL 2019 COLLECTION

Ackermann’s most recent collection was powerful in terms of color scheme and message. With red, black, and white as the main colors and a red background on stage, he also wanted to note that he was “borrowing” gender-specific patterns and using them on both men and women to create fluidity.

There were various patterns used such as a butterfly jacquard and chevron stripes and the tailoring was elegant. Even though some of the outfits seemed simple at first glance, the structure and small details make it different from a typical ensemble. See the whole collection here.

SACAI

HOW WAS SACAI CREATED?

Sacai was founded by Chitose Abe in 1999 as a Japanese clothing label. Her aesthetic was based off of the idea that women don’t need to wear masculine clothing to exude power or reach success and that mothers don’t have to wear “boring” clothes.

As a mother herself, she didn’t want to feel restricted to typical “mom clothes” such as jeans, t-shirts, and sweaters. Her success came when she made new versions of her clothes and created a refreshing uniform for motherhood. Abe’s designs are meant to be worn by busy mothers who work during the day but also need to take care of their family.  She owns 100% of her business, allowing her to have full control of her work and creativity.

LIFE BEFORE LAUNCHING SACAI

Prior to creating her own brand, she worked for Rei Kawakubo as a a patter cutter at Comme des Garçons and was also part of the design team at Junya Watanbe. Abe had her first show at Paris Fashion Week in 2009 and now over 90 international stockists carry her label.

THE FALL 2019 COLLECTION

The key to this season’s collection was layering and revisiting childhood outfits. After thinking about what she liked to wear as a child, she emulated that in more adult proportions, creating looks that were quite couture yet still practical. For example, her coats and jackets are wearable and can actually keep you warm.

Some of the prints used were herringbone, paint drip, and Fair Isle. There was a mixture of trench coats, puffer jacket elements, denim, and fur that was incorporated into the pieces. She also kept the colors neutral with camel, gray, black, and olive green. To see the whole collection, click here.

And that wraps it up for Paris Fashion Week and Fashion Month! It was quite a busy time for me in the last month.

I’m currently working 2 jobs, interning, and volunteering for another organization, which makes it a bit difficult to find time for blogging and other personal projects. I normally put my blog on the back burner when I get busy, but I’m trying to prioritize it now so hopefully I can make this blog a success in the future.

Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed this post; I’ll see you lovelies soon!