AREA 2023

SPRING 2023 READY-TO-WEAR

By Marcus Blassingame

Designer-Piotrek Panszczyk said before the show at his studio in Chinatown. “The beauty of them, but also the symbolic meaning of them. In a way you can think of fruit as something fresh, a new start, but when it starts decaying, it becomes about mortality.”

Opening the show with banana shapes (at first glance I imagined that it was an ode to the legendary Josephine Baker which would have been so apropos) into looks like a cropped top and a skirt made of oversized designs of the fruit (imitating a bunch as they would appear in a super market), succeeded by a jacket with banana shapes surrounding the bodice, followed by a strapless denim mini dress, all in tie-dye shades of pink, purple, and white which were meant to mimic the colors of bruised, rotten fruit. The next dress was made of small, individually draped and formed banana shapes that were joined together in the style of a bandage-dress, hugging the body and leaving nothing to the imagination. It was inspired by Madame Grès. “I always look at [her] through all our work, but we always translate [the inspiration] into rigid crystals. This season, we really started going back to fabric, going back to basics,” Piotrek Panszczyk told Vogue.

The show featured a sensational array of talent of various colors, sizes and ages. “Aging also comes with beauty,” Panszczyk explained. “And I think for us it’s always important to showcase these different stages of life.” All beautifully wardrobed to take our imaginations beyond the aesthetics that society suggests in a display of ‘Beyonce Concert, Red Carpet brilliance’. We were treated to ensembles like the halter neck gown with a silhouette like an amphora made from a graphic black and white grape print, which was elegant and modern, or the red strapless empire waist flocked tulle gown with black lurex whose pattern brought to mind squashed grapes when wine is being made in a very sensual way. The accessories were exquisite as they accented the body and necklines like blossoming willows including opulent feathered details and even elegant lace full face masks.