Minimidimaxi Magazine

Marie Saint Pierre captures motion perfectly in her poetic and feminine fall/winter 2007 collection, one that is non-seasonal in nature, and one that features some of the most sensual output in the Canadian fashion calendar.

Fabrics take centre stage here, especially since the silhouettes get their rigour from the fluidity of materials. Crêpe jersey, chiffons, extensible tulle, and wool jersey are the playthings that Saint Pierre uses to fashion her mellifluous creations. Let us now swim in some of her techniques.

The Gather: Black chiffon is gathered is cascading shapes down the front of a slipstream gown. Heaps of fabric are made to look weightless, draped and wrapped over bodysuits with a focus on colour contrast.

The Bias Cut: What could do a better job at breaking up the singularity of a skintight crêpe dress (let’s not forget the turtleneck) than having it descend into looser, diagonally cut ribbing?

The Pleat and Pin-tuck: Dimpled tulle, luscious and black, is used to fashion an open-front dress with 30’s elegance. The genius of the piece is that no nook or cranny is in thrall to the rigidity of the fabric, due to corrective pin-tucking here and there.

Sweeping empress jackets in blinding white, French collars and cuffs, and other striking iconic shapes are things we’ve seen Marie Saint Pierre do before, but these masterful pieces give us nothing to complain about. Saint Pierre gets fresh in other ways, such as using robin red as her from-the-rooftops accent colour.

Daniel Cox, Fashion Editor
Marek Wlazlo, Photographer