by Giorgia Crescia
“La Nouvelle Eve” is the Fall Winter 2022/23 new collection by Andreas Kronthaler for Vivienne Westwood conceived as a tribute to the theater.
The stylist, who is looking for lightness, wants to create something noble and formal, the intent is to seduce the mind through the gaze.
Andreas Kronthaler distances himself from the inspiration given to him by the great personalities around him to look for his inner muse, and it is at this point that his search is contaminated by a series of female icons that are part of his cognitive background.
First of all is the image of the virgin with the baby in swaddling clothes, a figure that fascinates the designer because it shines in all its beauty, but what strikes him is certainly the floral brocade cloak, an element that we find in the new line as well as the head covered.
The richness and abundance of fabrics and prints used in a single look, an aspect that has always characterized the brand, is presented here as a reference to another image that inspired the designer, namely, Santa Sara, also famous for to be the patroness of gypsy culture; a culture famous for its colors and its abundance.
Andreas Kronthaler reminds us, or rather, during the creative process, reminds us of two other images, whose influence in the new collection is very clear, it is the film by Jean Renoir “The golden carriage” in which Anna Magnani plays colombina and Watteau’s painting “The Gersaint sign”.
Of the painting we certainly see the shapes, cuts and draperies of the longest dresses re-proposed in “La Nouvelle Eve”; instead, the dress worn by Anna Magnani in the role of Pulcinella is almost brought back to its original form, while the same pattern is also used in the creation of trousers.
We also know that the collection is enriched with old Christmas decorations by Andreas Kronthaler and Vivienne Westwood, used, at the request of the designer, by Vivienne, to enrich some garments.
Obviously, there is no lack of coats of every shape and colour, oversized shoulders, garments that break the gender diversity, usually adopted in common clothing, a union of textures and prints, but also monochromatic outfits.
The draperies that catapult us into Watteau’s painting are marvellous and balanced, the garments covered with transparent fabrics that recall the iconography of the virgin, the more classic pinstripe cuts, the eclectic headdresses and the light references to the East; all this is mixed in the Fall Winter 2022/23 new collection by Andreas Kronthaler, which guides us along the inner research path of his muses.
A varied collection, which clearly brings out the ideas that inspired it, while maintaining continuity and coherence with the shapes and lines of the brand.
