Amsterdam, The Netherlands – Fair Fashion: Monique Collignon knows how to make a statement
The courtier Monique Collignon presented her ready-to-wear SS16 ‘Conscious Collection’ during the Amsterdam Fashion Week which was all about getting more attention to the environment and upcycling in the fashion world. The show started with a model appearing from a huge earth-like balloon in the middle of the runway, making dramatic and poetic arm gestures while revealing a showstopper dress. The set-up of her collection became clear quickly after: she created designs inspired by the four elements: earth, water, fire and air.
With the mindset ‘Garbage is only garbage if you don’t do anything with it’ she build up her collection with seventy percent of Waste2Wear materials. The other fabrics she used, such as silk and lace, are also produced eco-friendly.
This way Monique Collignon wants to raise attention for the waste problem in the world
…as she states: “I want to show that you can help the world get rid of plastic and look stunning at the same time”. This makes the Couture Light Conscious Collection very special since Collignon is the first fashion designer in the world who uses recycled PET-bottles in her collection.
Monique Collignon states that her Couture Light Collection mainly consists out of ready-to-wear dresses for all occasions and ages. However, there was still a lot of High Fashion to be found on the runway as well. Which brings us to wonder how wearable her designs really are. Nevertheless, the designs were gorgeous! Besides that, at certain moments there was a bit too much going on during her presentation. She focused on the environment with the four elements, which is already a nice cohesive setting point. However, besides that she also played with several prints, colors, materials, glitters, accessories and shapes. Obviously it is important to create enough variety in a collection, but it was hard to find a leitmotif in the separate outfits besides the environmental concept.
The hair was kept simple and sleek with high ponytails and the make-up complemented the environmental concept with bright green eyeshadow, simple but strong! Another notable point is the fact that there were several curvy models seen on the catwalk. Since Monique Collignon is a high fashion designer, this is a great statement because it questions our current view on the ‘Size Zero’ models on the runway. All in all, the Monique Collignon Couture Light Show was all about making statements and changing the way we see the fashion world, for that we can only have tons of respect!
Image Credits: Monique Collignon.
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