Techno-Futurism in fashion. Laura Gerte is a master of this language, with her characteristic pieces such as quilted bomber jackets, distinctive ruffles silk dresses and reconstructed jersey pieces with long ribbons. Last season she even made her own Cyborg manifest.
That said, with her spring collection, Desire/Chaos, she left the unnatural behind and concentrated on a little more direct: the complexity of female experience. “For me, this collection is an exploration of what it means to be a woman – something that I, my friends and many women live through every day. This constant awareness of possible threats unites us, but it also pays us,” Gerte shared after her presentation. “I am tired of being sad or angry. Yet I totally agree with the expression:” Sometimes creation is painful. ” Working on this collection has deeply influenced me, and of course on a larger scale, seeing what is happening in the world at the moment. “
In addition to her characteristic techniques, she managed to reflect the feeling of the present moment by silhouettes: micro-shorts, capri pants and hoodies that were casually draped over shoulders with relaxed letters, but also by surprisingly elegant evening dresses, in contrast to something that Gerte has shown earlier. “I have submitted myself much deeper in working with three -dimensionality in my clothing. It is more feminine, more elegant, more powerful, which represents a kind of sisterhood that I want to express.”
On the one hand, she presented designs made of stiff white canvas wrapped in tulle, creating the nearby trompe-l’Iil effects. On the other hand, versions with delicate mesh and flowing dust applications were so softer. With these dresses, Gerte asked: “What is the closest thing to wear nothing while it still looks fierce?” In the final, she has redesigned this essence – printed with mesh evening dresses and covered with torn contrasting sweater applications that looked like they were just ‘spontaneously thrown on spontaneously’.
Gerte interpreted these contrasts in a refreshingly unrestrained and deeply moving way. Her collection became a visual metaphor for armor and intimacy, for revealing and hiding, for openness and protection, softness and toughness – for delicacy and resistance. The applause was loud, sincere and direct. This was a step forward, not only for Gerte, but also for the prospect of collections that confront reality instead of romantizing utopias.