Rahul Mishra’s collection The Village, swept away attendees at the Palais de Tokyo on the final day of Paris Fashion Week by Lauren Sarazen
Inspired by the village in which he grew up, Mishra used detailed embroidery to communicate the link between the village and the natural world, the traditional and the modern.
“Stories are what offer time travel by warping the fabric of time and space,” Mishra offered. “The Village, with an ecosystem—that offered an equilibrium between man and nature—of peaceful and sustainable co-existence” inspired the 32 stunning looks that walked the runway at Palais de Tokyo.
Mishra showed this contrast by mixing sheer fabrics, which lent a vibe of natural fluidity, with wool, which suggests structure. His color palette ranged from soft sunrise pinks to midnight blues, mimicking the sky’s change from dawn to dusk. His use of illustrative embroidery tied the collection together, uniting the range of colors. Motifs such as birds, clusters of houses, flowers, rolling hills, and pinwheels occur throughout, lent Mishra’s wool-dominant designs playful exuberance.
Known for his work with wool, Mishra recently won the International Woolmark Prize in 2014. Not only does his work links traditional Indian hand-weaving with modern fashion, but also sustains a community of Indian artisans who transform raw Merino wool into the fabrics Mishra uses to create his elegant, poetic collections. Certainly, Rahul Mishra continues to be an up-and-coming designer to watch.
