Corsetry serves as the foundation of almost every silhouette. Sheer boned bodices expose the architecture beneath the garment, while velvet cording follows the lines traditionally hidden inside its construction. Elsewhere, intricate beaded latticework replaces fabric altogether, creating dresses that appear suspended between clothing and ornament.
Beneath the collection’s glamour lies a subtle sense of melancholy, not sorrow, but an awareness of beauty’s impermanence. Chakra explores the fleeting nature of desire and the way certain moments gain their intensity precisely because they cannot last. The clothes feel designed to capture that brief instant when elegance becomes memory.
Black anchors the collection, appearing in crêpe, velvet, Chantilly lace and gazar. It is cut into elongated columns, sculpted mermaid gowns and abbreviated seven-eighth-length dresses, creating a dark and controlled foundation against which colour can erupt.
Red crêpe arrives embroidered with paillettes and feathers; cobalt is layered over black tulle; and fuchsia duchesse satin expands into dramatic, full-bodied volume. Yet even at its most theatrical, the collection remains disciplined. Panniers, balloon skirts and draped metallic gazar are treated as architectural constructions rather than decorative effects.
This precision is echoed in the Maison’s signature tuxedos, rendered in black and ivory with sharply controlled lines. Their restraint provides a counterpoint to the collection’s more extravagant silhouettes, reinforcing the tension between masculinity and sensuality, exposure and concealment.
The embroideries combine traditional couture workmanship with unexpected materials. Raffia thread, Charleston fringe, fibreglass paillettes and feather flowers introduce contrasting textures, while recurring bows appear at the shoulders, hips and closures, functioning as both ornament and signature.
The finale arrives in pure ivory: a pearl-beaded lattice corset layered over gathered taffeta. Both highly constructed and seemingly weightless, the look brings together the collection’s central ideas, structure, fragility, ornament and desire.