Isa Arfen Fall/Winter 2014: Paris Fashion Week

In an atelier space in Paris’ 7th arrondissement, Isa Arfen’s Fall/Winter 2014 presentation provided a respite to the runway insanity elsewhere. Arriving felt just like entering the photo shoot scene in Antonioni’s 1966 swinging-London masterpiece Blow-Up except that, here, models performed pouts for iPhones rather than Leicas. Black patent trenches and red wool-cashmere coats were donned over contemporized go-go boots by Charlotte Olympia, atop a black and white checked floor, to the sound of David Hemmings’ camera snapping. Isa Arfen designer, Italian-born Serafina Sama, explained that she had pulled sound excerpts from photo shoots in films like Blow-Up and Portfolio. (Picture Steven Meisel shouting, “Nastier, stranger, wilder…!”) Beautifully interchangeable and full of Isa Arfen signatures, the collection of grey chrome culottes, crinkled chiffon blouses, miniature houndstooth suits, and teddy bear mohair coats in beige, black and teal, had Andy Warhol’s portrait of the notoriously gorgeous Tina Chow as its origin—especially for Chow’s way of “punctuating pieces with eccentricity.”

Photos by Romain Vesin | E-MAIL US to be notified once the Fall/Winter 2014 collection hits OC!