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April 26th, 2010
THE EARLY DAYS #3: Haider Ackermann
An invitation to curate A MAGAZINE never arrives at the same time in a designer’s career, and their issue never plots a specific evolution, nor will ever be remembered by a specific seasonal collection. It is this timeless condition that makes each issue special, celebrating the world that surrounds the garments and not always the garments and ‘fashion’ itself.
Nevertheless it is an apt task to revisit the beginnings, to observe both change and continuity in a designer’s creations. For those like Maison Martin Margiela and Yohji Yamamoto, this was over twenty years ago – but for younger designers like Haider Ackermann, this time is not so far in the distant past.
For The Early Days project, we present images from Haider Ackermann’s Fall Winter 2005 collection, shown at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris on March 4th, 2005 (It is interesting to note that this was when Haider began work on A#3, which was released that October). The collection is based on the fundamental principles of East meets West that Haider utilises with such fluidity, sculpting the garments around the feminine form with a balance of strictness and ease. The colours are faded and icy, Opulent natural fabrics and heavy embroidery are highlights – with sheer metallic silks, thick felt wools and mastic leathers worn in muted and monochrome silhouettes. Coats and trousers combine military pockets and ruching for an experimental blend of hard and soft, a technique that Haider has refined over the years to great effect.
To look at these images and then to jump five years later to Haider’s most recent work is to see a defined step forward in a young designer’s career. From the finish and fit of the fabrics to the overall coherence of the collection, it is clear that Haider’s ouvre is continuing to flourish and gain momentum, unhampered by commercial success. It seems inevitable that the purity and fluidity of his shapes – coupled with a quiet eclecticism of texture – will continue to win Haider Ackermann many loyal followers in the years to come.
Above images: All Haider Ackermann Fall Winter 2005, courtesy of Michele Montagne.
