THE BEST OF INTIMA – 01/2009 - (Page 88)

Expo onia Rykiel revealed Exploring words and black The designer embraced black, a color she considered synonymous with seduction and freedom, which shook the bourgeois elegance of the 70s, overturning taboos and causing a sensation. Black, the somber backdrop against which the pale faces of her models lit up drawing attention to the architecture of the garments, was to become all the rage in the 80s and remain a constant in ensuing fashions. From showrooms to catwalks, ever since then, black has been the emblem of Sonia Rykiel’s mystery and of the brand’ modernity, long before Japas nese and Belgian designers made it their own. A woman of fashion, Sonia Rykiel was also a woman of words: she spoke as she wrote and wrote as she spoke, playing with words which became inscriptions on clothing, poetic slogans or even books. As a writer she fascinated fashion designers, artists and filmmakers. The exhibition plunges visitors into the mysterious and bewitching universe so dear to Sonia Rykiel, with items of clothing playfully showcased alongside catwalk videos and numerous photographs. The space evokes a Haussmanian apartment which visitors discover wandering from one room to another. A rotunda, doors, boudoirs and recesses unravel in a cocooning atmosphere veiled in a light skin Les Arts Décoratifs in Paris gave Sonia Rykiel free rein with the first great exhibition celebrating the fashion house’s 40th anniversary. From November 24th 2008 to April 19th 2009 “Sonia Rykiel, Exhibition” invites visitors to discover the designer through a thematic itinerary in which 220 garments, from 1968 to the present day, are exhibited next to fashion photographs and catwalk videos, forging the image of the designer known as a pioneer of contemporary fashion. I t was 1962 when Sonia Rykiel began designing and manufacturing her first maternity dresses and curve-enhancing fitted sweaters for the store Laura, quickly soaring to success. Yet the story of the Sonia Rykiel fashion house begins in 1968 with the opening of the first boutique in Saint-Germain-dePrés in Paris. Sonia Rykiel was quickly heralded as the “queen of knitwear”, creating tight-fitting sweaters and revolutionizing proportions. Knitwear became her trademark material, which she was to work at obsessively throughout her career . In 1974 she invented the first dresses with seams on the outside and the unfinished style, abolishing hems and linings, thereby anticipating by a decade the approach and workings which defined the passport to modernity of experimental and conceptual designers. As fashionable outfits of the period became the carbon paper of each decade, putting previous fashions out of style, the Rykiel signature remained a constant emblem of modernity . As such, Sonia Rykiel creations offer eager historians few possibilities to date items within a small margin. Equally pioneering was Sonia Rykiel’s use of black, sheathing pop-style garments like a glove. Knitwear became her trademark material, which she was to work at obsessively throughout her career 88

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of THE BEST OF INTIMA – 01/2009

Cover
CONTENTS
EDITORIAL
SHOP SCOUTING WORLDWIDE - BOI’s selection from Asia to Europe
NEWER NOTABLES -Victoria’s Secret
- The Blue Corset
- Miss Lala’s Boudoir
- Harrods
- Secrets from Your Sister
- Ann Summers
BOI’S SURVEY - Weathering the storm
EXPERT - Trends to shine through economic gloom
RETAIL NEWS - Pull-In, Marlies Dekkers
FW 09/10 TRENDS - Baroque Allure
- Red Passion
- Light & Shadow
- Sweet Glamour
- Sensual Skin
TALENT - The Lake&Stars
LAUNCHING - Dietrich, Fiorucci Pin Up
- Lola Haze, Cosabella
- Parah, R Crescentini
VIEW FOR YOU
EVENT - Femmy Awards 2009, Seduction at FIT
EVENT - The 2008 Hug Awards
2008 BEST SHOP AWARDS
EXPO - Sonia Rykiel revealed
PORTRAIT - All about Jogê
- Frock Couture
THE GUEST - Elizabeth Hospodar
COVER STORY - Spotlight on Chantelle
BUSINESS NEWS
WHO’S WHO
EXCLUSIVE - Round Table
INTERVIEW - Curve takes it all
CALENDAR - Major trade fairs around the world
NETWORK EXPRESS - Network Dessous’ ten worldwide magazines
MARKET FOCUS - Russia: conquering the east
BEST SELLERS
FABRIC NEWS
FABRIC TRENDS

THE BEST OF INTIMA – 01/2009