Muse - fall/winter 2008
Muse creates a bizarre cinematic fusion of the 40s and the 80s for fall/winter 2008.
Fashion greats Blumarine, Bottega Veneta, and Roberto Cavalli have all recently brought back the outfits that Katherine Hepburn, Ingrid Bergman and Lauren Bacall made so memorable, and this trend has trickled onto the Canadian Fashion Stage.
While there was no director waiting in the wings, Muse pulls off some screen-worthy A-lines in the form of black cross-stitched leatherette skirts, silver-lamé dresses, and flaring winter coats. The high waist is another 40s touch that Chenail uses sparingly and with elegance, employing it to define the look of an A-line halter dress.
Tweeds figure prominently in the collection, from three-quarter length redingotes with pagoda sleeves to salt-and-pepper waist-length jackets. Chenail is a whiz at pairing seemingly oppositional fabrics with each other to bring out the best. Tweeds play counterpoint with cross-stitched leatherette, a chintzy fabric that does well to conjure the 80s in all its heedless glory.
Colour-wise, touches of gold are what set this collection apart. A black jacket with champagne-coloured cotton hood is a bizarre sporty hybrid that, against all odds, seems to work.
Daniel Cox, Fashion Editor
Marek Wlazlo, Photographer
