Manish Arora’s shows are always a feast for the eyes and a fun fashion moment. But this season he took things to the next level and created a real fashion happening with a smattering of celebrity runway models and a show venue that was as off the hook as some of his creations.
The designer called his collection « Twin Peaks on Haribo » and that pretty much perfectly captured the essence of his Western/ Native American mash-up show. This was a collection with character and it needed to be worn by women who have that too. So asking Hannelore Knuts, Ellen von Unwerth and Chantal Thomass to wear his colorful prairie skirts, kaleidoscope colored blanket shawls and mystical vision quest printed pieces that looked like they had been designed by someone tripping on magic mushrooms made sense. After all this is a collection that featured a fluffy Pomeranian lap dog with its fur sprayed a papal purple.
Everything about this show was in-your-face fashion. From the embellished cowboy boots and skirt with a 3D feather motif made from fur to chambray shirts covered in western iconography outlined in saddle rivets and multicolored beaded fringe dresses in a Navaho pattern, there wasn’t one item that didn’t have an impressive handicraft story to tell.
This was a collection filled with happy-go-lucky clothing that will put a smile on your face, a spring in your step and, looking at all the intense workmanship that went into each piece, a sizable hole in your pocket book.