Julien Fournié SS19 – Couture
by Abdon FLORES
For French couture designer Julien Fournié, there seems that happiness has a clear origin: Nature. His First bliss collection was completely made with natural fabrics and it was inspired by the primitive island of Lanzarote where he has spent some time. Declared a biosphere reserve, the island has a rich and eruptive environment whose textures and expressions were captured by M. Fournié and translated into clothes.
The link between nature and apparel is old as humanity. But by using the savoir faire to make haute couture garments, this connection is sublimated in such a way that the output is rather convincing. Minerals –dark castings of basalt, bright fire sands brought from the Sahara by the winds– form the contrasting basis of the season’s color palette. The Spanish artist-architect César Manrique helped to define Lanzarote’s ecological status; this effort was emulated by M. Fournié while conceiving his collection.
Silk drape, chiffon and moire are underlined with assymetric drapings and straight pleats. Fabrics are molded close over to shoulders, bust and waist; amplitudes develop from the hips to a hemline just above the ankle, cinched by the strap of the House’s signature T-bar heels. Eel, reindeer and python confer fanciness, while unusual cacti and algae are singular details that enhance the collection allure which has the spirit of the 70’s when ecology seemed not an unreachable dream.
