When the gorgeously minimal line Ellery debuts at SPACE this spring, it will mark a big step into America for Kym Ellery, the Australian-born Russh magazine creative-turned-designer behind it.
Although the line is featured in gorgeous magazine editorial spreads all over Europe and Asia and worn and styled by some of fashion’s chicest global names, it’s under-known in the States. But not for long.
On Tuesday morning, in what was her first official Paris Fashion Week showing, the Central Saint Martins-educated designer presented a collection about the powerful feminine spirit and “silhouettes that are as strong as the women who wear them.”
As the show began, a recording of two children—a boy and a girl—discussing gender roles took the place of the opening song. From there the music morphed from pop tunes with clear feminist messages to sound collages. Both fit the vibe of the collection, which is straightforward and approachable as well as loose, and open to interpretation on a couple of levels.
When stylists and magazine editors design and select clothes, they tend to really consider how a woman will move in each piece. They are probably picturing the woman moving for a camera—in a photoshoot—but they’re also thinking about real life.
I get the feeling that Kym Ellery is that kind of designer. It seems she thinks about how the pieces will live in the world of fashion, and it seems she thinks about how the women who love her line will live in their own personal, unique worlds of fashion, too—whatever that might mean for them.
Because these are really clothes to live in. Although some dazzling evening separates and a couple of very lovely cocktail party options were shown, this was by and large a collection of beautiful, luxurious pieces that seemed designed and cut to feel unprecious—to feel empowering in their ease and efficiency.
The opening monotone scene gave way to a set of softly patterned dresses and tunics in inky but subdued gem tones. The energy of the prints—not at all florals but perhaps inspired by the underwater world?—seemed a complement to the abstract photographs (taken by the designer) in the large printed piece that waited for each guest on each seat.
Large, brassy grommets and soft fabric ties—sometimes worn loose, as with a terrific suiting look—made great detail points, as did a recurring element of tucked and gathered ruffle-like moments. There was a lot of strength, and a lot of softness.
The show notes that accompanied the printed piece included a very short story called La Nuit, or The Night, which read, in its entirety:
“In the glorious trance of sleep, I imagined the beach after a utopian summer’s day. The shoreline stained by the stretching fingers of the sea, punctuated with the discarded bits of humanity left behind to mingle with the sand.”
Shop: current season SPACE