Stephane Rolland Haute Couture A/W11

Stéphane Rolland is one of the few young designers to be admitted into the highly exclusive, official Haute Couture calendar. Yesterday, his collection proved to be suitingly mature (which is in no way synonymous to boring). The inspiration was Japan and calligraphy – a tad cliché perhaps? Rolland managed to avoid the risk by staying away from neo-kimonos, and keeping only sublte references. Intricate folds mixed with flowy layers, organic curves alongside rigidity – this also contributed to giving a architectual grandeur to the pieces. The girls in white makeup and quiffs looked a tad-geisha like. As for the colour palette, black and white (such as a jacket with a trail paired with a long white skirt), or yellow morphing into black at the hemline, it offered an elegant, controlled line –a refreshing move away from the glitz some couture houses tend to focus on.