“’Just living is not enough,’ said the Butterfly. ‘One must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower.’ These lines by Hans Christian Anderson, they somehow have a whole different meaning now. Why do we need to have yet another beautiful outfit when people are collectively stressed about the pandemic? ….”
So begins a Fall/Winter high-fashion couture show with words spoken by designer Rahul Mishra, live-streaming from Paris Fashion Week 2020.
But let me back up from the heady excitement of my first runway show, and give you some background. Well into adulthood I didn’t even know what couture meant … much lesshow to pronounce it! The fashion, the European vacation (I’ve never even been to Paris!), the celebrities — all of these things seemed, well, way beyond my reach. And never in a million years would I get to be among all of the glamorous people sitting on the “front row” … until now! Well, baby, welcome to Paris Fashion Week! Thanks to COVID quarantine, we’ve all got a front row seat!
I was drawn to the colors splashed across the livestreaming video icon for Mishra’s Paris show on the NY Times website. With one click, I was transported half a world away in terms of geography — and a galaxy away as it relates to the world of fashion! And the story of Mishra’s new collection unfolded before my eyes.
The narrative was current, and relevant. When lockdown happened, Mishra was in New Delhi after finishing the last season’s show in Paris. He and his team were beginning the next preparation, “ideation” as he calls it, when quarantine went into effect. Soon, he began to notice cleaner air, clearer skies above, more birds and butterflies, healthier gardens – and he was inspired. Working to connect his world of fashion with the natural world, he wanted to create a couture “ecosystem” that was more connected than any of his past collections. And wow, ladies — did he deliver! Mishra’s intentional connection between nature, fashion and people is fully evident in this Fall/Winter collection.
How to describe these magical pieces, from dresses to capes to fashionable “headwear” (even if it’s headwear that you could LITERALLY only wear in a couture show)? I’m not a fashion writer, but these are the words that come to mind:
Ethereal, garden-inspired, natural, sensual, floral, birdlike, dancing, fanciful … reminiscient of a mystic melody.
Embroidered, translucentfabrics, interwoven gauzy masks, feminine and yet not juvenile flowy dresses … like a modern, avant garde Shakespearean Midsummer Night’s Dream (I kept looking for a little elfish Puck to pop out from behind a tree).
Bottom line: aligned with the beauty of nature, Mishra is truly weaving a garden into his couture pieces.
“Every garment must have a purpose for existence in this world; if the couture supports people, supports the craftsmen, it becomesfar more meaningful if it allows them to support themselves and have a meaningful life.”
– Rahul Mishra
Watch Rahul Mishra’s Fall/Winter Show 2020 Paris Fashion Week here:
I also found it revealing, and poignant, that Rahul Mishra chose the butterfly – the symbol of transformation – as a focal point in his designs. It reminds me of another video making its way around the internet recently, of a butterfly emerging from its cocoon. It’s in slow-motion (or, maybe it’s not? Maybe it just really takes THAT long for the butterfly to work its way out, folks). Anyway, the message is that the hard, seemingly impossible work that the creature undertakes to burst free and stretch its wings is ESSENTIAL to preparing its body and wings to fly. Without the straining, pushing, gasping effort that strengthens the butterfly’s entire being, flight would be impossible, and the butterfly would die. Hmmm, a metaphor for our human lives, yes? So, everything I am going through is preparing me for what’s to come? Okay, I can get my head around that, sisters!
Flitting back to Paris week, then … Will live-streaming each fashion house’s upcoming creations now make real-time viewing available to everyone instead of just an elite few? Will it mark a new era for “high fashion” shows? Probably. But I’d venture to say that we’re actually in a whole new era for EVERYTHING — and it is a time for transformation on multiple levels. And, while there will be disappointments, there will also be progress. So, each day I will choose to fight the good fight, and celebrate the good, the blessings, and the lovely. Every day, I’ll choose to be a butterfly, vibrant and flying high above it all.
Signing off from Paris (via my dining room table) … Au revoir!
Enjoy some more images from Mishra’s live-streaming show: