Stephane Rolland Haute Couture Spring Summer 2013

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| 26 January 2013

Stephane Rolland finally hit the right esthetic for his spring-summer 2013 couture show in Paris, perfecting his take on pure architectural styles. Accompanied by toga-wearing violinists, rich hourglass gowns flowed by in white silk and diaphanous white organza. Some looks came in black. Sheer backs and see-through silk blocks on legs added touches of sensuality — proof why Rolland's a favourite with television stars like Kim Kardashian, who watched from the front row.

"I designed this show like a sculpture exhibit," Rolland said backstage, citing the Louvre's sculptural masterpiece the "Winged Victory of Samothrace" as a reference.

Indeed, windswept collars in the show that billowed from busts evoked Grecian drama. The process behind the clothes in haute couture is often as interesting as the garments themselves. Rolland used a decorative technique of baking chiffon bubbles — literally in a furnace — that said he recently learned from a scientist.

It's nice to know the couturier who's now worn by Lady Gaga and Yasmin Le Bon doesn't take himself too seriously. One spiky applique detail was made of cigarette butts the designer apparently collected from chain-smoking models at a fitting. They were, naturally, all slims.

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