There may only be a handful of young designers to watch out for in Paris where the established set trumps all but the few that are on the schedule should rise with rapid success if the development is anything as impressive as it has been for Brazilian young gun Pedro Lourenco. From last season’s graphic take on Josephine Bonaparte’s empire line dresses, the costume elements have been erased to leave only the graphic lines that permeate Lourenco’s work. They have been solidified and applied with a slick veneer that sees white lines running down in an asymmetric way on v-neck low-cut dresses, up and down a three-quarter sleeved blue coat, as well as creating invisible lines using delicate mesh fabric, asserting Lourenco’s love of transparent effects in garments.
Fur cut into pom poms to draw stripes across a body as well as on paneled short jackets, also softened up the lines a fair bit. The clinical precision of everything was further emphasized by the fold-over leather iPad cases that were attached to bracelets like futuristic clutches. It wasn’t a futuristic vision for Lourenco,l seeing as regular iPad clutching is fast becoming a reality. Silver lurex and organza ruching up around the knees in an asymmetric dress formed the restrained bit of sparkle in the collection but when used sparingly, along with the rest of the collection, it’s clear to see Lourenco’s got the legs to go a long way.
Dazed Digital: How have you progressed from last season?
Pedro Lourenco: It's still very graphic but I wanted to explore the graphic concept in a more asymmetrical way so I started looking at Bauhaus Bellair so you can see the graphic shapes and the graphic lines that becomes part of the body when in motion.
DD: You still have a lot of transparency going on in the collection though - is it becoming a bit of a signature?
Pedro Lourenco: I love transparency and I love the concept of the clothing becoming part of the body. It's almost like a woman is changing into an animal or a spirit is coming out of them and it's almost like the women morphing into the clothes.
DD: Why did you decide to have the models carry iPads?
Pedro Lourenco: We all carry iPads now, we carry the images around with us and maybe the iPad is the new handbag!
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