Arielle de Pinto and Christian Wijnants A/W 10-11

Since 2006, Arielle de Pinto has been furiously knitting and carving away. The Canadian extraordinaire is marking the contemporary jewelry scene with her trademark crochet and her hand-sculpted impertinent charms. Her joint presentation with Christian Wijnants during Paris fashion week, drew a crowd from New York, London, and the biggest challenge of all: Parisian locals.

They were to discover more adornment for neck, hand, chest (and just about any part of the body for that matter) -- as modelled by her friends including an elongated girl in a bellydancing piece dress, and Dan Bodan, a topless musician with a bejewelled head who sang and glittered away. For her new collection, Pinto also offers a new range of colours including ultraviolet, dusty pink and nudes.

Drawing inspiration from mythology, Aladdin and urban culture, Arielle composes her own religion: the charms complement the jewelry with sometimes phallic, sometimes spiritual symbols (and sometimes both: her ‘prosperity cluster’ necklace contains charms of a fruit and a naked man – what more to ask for?)

 “I don’t think of the jewelry world. I just make objects that are wearable.” she says. Having the freedom to, say, “putting a dick on a pie e is very important to me” explains the young goldsmith.

Mere fashion accessories, you ponder? Not exactly. Despite being regularly featured in piles of magazine, her pieces go against modern rates of production: Pinto makes everything by hand, including the clasp. “It’s not that I think doing it any other way is cheating, I don’t even think of that. I’ve just developed a technique, and I’m satisfied with what I do.”

In 2010, Pinto will stick to her Ps: Phallic, Pretty Provocative and Pourquoi Pas?

Christian Wijnants’ work feels like an afternoon at the countryside, watching the trees become ocher and the world go by. More seventies in aura than in style, his use of orange and patterns of group hugs makes one want to experience a hippy fall: one spent rolling around in the grass and in the nude.

The young designer is rapidly making a name for himself amongst fashion connoisseurs: he won the prestigious Hyères festival in 2003, and since has worked for Dries for Noten and Angelo Tarlazzi and has been sold at Maria Luisa and Colette. Today, when designing for fall, he draws his influence from, well, fall.

His style always bears an organic feel to it, like a still life painting translated onto clothes. This collection was based on actual prairie shots. It combines a palette of oranges, amber and salmons paired with materials going from skin like silks to heavy wools. As for the style, the heavy use of draping, knotting, and double-use of clothes transforms an oversized, Sunday-wear piece into a backless dress; a priest-like high neck, straight cut into a naked-armed, empire cut dress.

The influence seem to stretch from middle-aged clerical wear (think the Name of the Rose), to Robin Hood or Helen of Troy – whilst remaining laid back, true to his Antwerpian origins.As for the theme of the forest, who said it needs to be one made of trees? One of his most notable pieces is a long dress featuring a forest of naked bodies, embracing. The seam-lessness of the item makes one of the arms stretch around the whole waist, giving the impression that the wearer is part of a giant group hug.