While working on his fall collection, Ashi was thinking about being in transit.
Not physically, mind you, although the Paris-based Saudi couture designer was unveiling the wardrobe designed for the cabin crew of upcoming airline Riyadh Air later in the day.
Here, he was reflecting on daydreaming and woolgathering, expressing these moments of mental escape in silhouettes that leaned toward the nebulous and cocooning.
“The truth is [couture] is not art, it’s an [applied] art but these objects have to have a message and a meaning,” said Ashi, who only goes by his last name. “Otherwise it’s just clothes at the end of the day.”
Following this idea, each served as a metaphor for a particular moment.
A dream of galloping on a horse turned into a flurry of horse-hair fluttering as the model walked. A moment in the boudoir was represented by a cocooning coat with a wide shawl collar that had been embroidered with no less than 15,000 square sequins that formed a floral mosaic reminiscent of Italian palazzos.
Ashi felt that being in one’s bubble made time flow differently, so he worked textures that evoked patina, from the softest cashmere turned feathery with hand-tooling and trailing golden threads, or a generous black velvet coat that looked like an exquisite and well-loved robe, its surface turned shiny by long use.
Toward the end, silhouettes took a lighter tone, with sheer blouses and richly textured skirts in blush tones as well as the finale dress, cascades of black chiffon looping back toward the shoulders. Lofty as their inspiration may be, they attested that the designer’s a dab hand when it comes to well-turned out clothes, too.