Isabelle Wen, one of Taiwan's leading fashion designers, debuted her new line, the Spring-Summer Collection 2005, at the Taipei Artist Village last week. And what a fitting place -- an international artist residency, a place made for creative experimentation -- for a designer originally trained as a painter, who brings an avant-garde sensibility to fabrics and an artist's flair for combinations of line and color that flatter and clothe the body.
The fashion show with the theme "South of the Equator" was more like an evocative artsy performance than a straightforward commercial promotion. It is this blend of art and fashion that brings elegance to the clothes and that has brought Wen international acclaim with showcases in Hong Kong, Paris and Japan.
The mood of the show was set even before any of the clothes were seen. The Taipei Artist Village was transformed from a public gathering spot to a private invitation-only affair with debonairly dressed men who opened gauzy curtains to allow guests to pass by freestanding candelabras on the way to their seats. The aura seemed like something straight out of an Anne Rice novel.
PHOTO: SUSAN KENDZULAK
A wooden stage platform had been built around several trees to create an exotic backdrop and a space that felt intimate and interior while being outdoors.
To begin the fashion show, black-T-shirt clad percussionists wearing slashes of face paint banged out tribal rhythms on their African drums. The performance was soon followed by a shirtless fire dancer.
Locally renowned musicians DJ Monbaza and Lin Chong created the dynamic pulsating sounds that fit in well for women's fashion that is designed specifically for urban living.
Even though the theme was "South of the Equator," these were by no means beach clothes or frumpy safari clothes. The fabrics were soft, luxurious and feminine with lots of chiffons, silks and hand-beaded Indian fabrics. Still, the styles are very functional and allow for easy mobility in a city environment of taxis, trains and crowded streets.
Like a fireworks display where each round gets progressively brighter and out-dazzles the one before it, so it was with Wen's showing of 55 designs.
The first round of flouncy tulle skirts in mostly muted shades of browns and blues were followed by a set of brightly-hued tangerine lacy dresses. A coral and white silk dress conjured up visions of 1950s prom queens, while a three-quarter length coat of the same material was contemporary and chic enough to be the envy of most audience members.
A more earthy feel was evoked for the jungle theme -- signaled by intense primal rhythms from the DJs and drummers -- with green leather jackets and breezy skirts worn with cowboy boots.
For the grand finale, models appeared singly with large fake parrots attached to their shoulders. The brightly colored plumage of the birds was a counterpoint to the clothing. It showed that one can wear somber colors like the tie-dyed navy or the sheer black skirts (with accents of hand-sewn flowery embroidery) and still stand out elegantly like a beautifully plumed bird.
Wen excels at details whether it is the variegated textures of skirt hems -- which were mostly knee-length though she did show some minis and some skirts that scraped the ground -- or the softened pocket edges of her tough-girl green leather jackets. Wen's fashion designs do evoke a bit of that 1960s girl-group mystique: tough on the outside, vulnerable on the inside.
Wen's latest collection also makes the point that these clothes are for the sophisticated woman who would feel comfortable wearing these clothes together as an ensemble for a lavish night on the town or separately with a favorite pair of jeans for a more casual look.
Wen started her fashion label in 1986 and has two clothing boutiques in Taipei, but her design sensibilities emerged early in childhood when she would draw up designs to give to her mother as a reaction against the ugly clothes available for children at that time.
Wen said, "I design for people who want to look and feel beautiful." In addition, she is proud to be a Taiwanese designer and to make life lovelier for people in Taiwan.
Besides fashion design, she has diversified her interests into upscale lounge bars, such as Cafe 75 Degrees (slated to close this month), Sofa, L'Hotel and the newly opened FiFi Restaurant and W Lounge Bar, which show that her great taste in fashion and design extends to interior ambience, elegant entertaining and fine cuisine.
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