An Oxymoron at Yiqing Yin Paris Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2015

Employing minimalist sensibilities, Chinese-born, French-raised designer Yiqing Yin has created a line that is soft, yet structured within feminine beauty. The line was an understated exhibition of draping and smocking techniques, accompanied by the oxymoronic uses of different fabrics. Yet, there exists within these clothes a harmony of different fabrics, such as leather and silk, wool and satin, and therefore a commentary on the complexity that women possess.

The complexity not only lies in the fabrics, but within the mood of the clothes themselves. While the show opened with multiple interpretations of gray satin and muslin, the latter part of the show featured black, laser-cut jumpsuits that were skin tight and intricately designed with a tattoo-like pattern. Asymmetrical dresses were common, with standouts such as a royal-blue Grecian piece, as well as an open gray gown with a fitted satin blazer.

In her representative’s words Yin’s aesthetic is build around “Her aim has been to create a garment that protects and reinforces, being at the same time a second skin and a supple armor. Examining the dynamic potential of pleats, she imagines structures which are never fixed, shapes that are always in mutation. She sculpts the emptiness around the body with, as a common thread, the search for balance and points of rupture between the flowing zones and the sculpted zones.”

This upcoming collection is definitely art in motion, as most haute couture collections are, but the design is practical and accessible enough for the average shopper.