Rami Kadi revealed his latest collection ‘Les Illusions Exquises’ during Paris Fashion Week – Haute Couture – Spring Summer 2015 at the Plaza Athénée hotel (which is the luxurious Parisian hotel Carrie stayed at in the final season of Sex and the City). Rami’s collection was well received amongst fashionistas. One of my favorite bloggers Kristina Bazan, from the website KAYTURE, wrote online that she was blown away by Rami’s wonderful masterpieces and by the level of craftsmanship.
This SS15 couture collection is all about optical illusions, which reminds me of Dutch graphic artist Escher (click here to view his work). Escher is famous for his optical illusions and is definitely worth a Google if you are an art lover.
This collection includes Rami’s signature ‘fierce’ silhouettes with full skirts, but is very different from his previous designs. Rami creates optical illusions through fabrics, colors, psychedelic patterns and embroidery. Each and every single piece focuses on different embroidery techniques, textures, patterns and effects to create a different illusion.
The materials used for this collection include leather and silk. The designs are hand embroidered and show different effects like the French knot, sequins, the Charleston fringe, Swarovski details and feathers. The color palette includes black and white monochrome, checker effects and metallic, holographic, iridescent materials that reflect light and reveal the colors of the rainbow, just like soap bubbles.
The mood surrounding this collection reminds me of Indian designer Amit Aggarwal’s couture collections. It has a futuristic vibe and explores the effects of the digital age. Both designers play with different, rare materials and create innovative, futuristic shapes.
Blogger Kristina Bazan is right about the level of craftsmanship, the embroidery is beyond intricate! One can put these designs on display in a modern art museum and people would spend minutes discussing each piece, praising the designer as they move from one piece to the other. I am fascinated with this artistic collection and the idea of optical illusions through fashion. That is why Rami remains one of my favorite designers!
The gallery includes my favorite pieces from this collection. I adore the fringed tops combined with the iridescent skirts. Check out the full collection in this behind the scenes video.
Photography by Mohamad Seifeddine