The Paris Haute Couture Fall Winter’18 kicks off with RVDK, the label of the couturier of the modern times – Ronald van der Kemp, who I guess, I can comfortably call the King of Leftover Fabrics. As usual, his looks bear details from the period that is his “inextinguishable fountain of inspiration” – the 60s-90s. But to me, in this collection the looks are more romantic, the lines are softer, loose, flare and whimsical. The creations again sport bold colors and combinations are playful. As usual, the focus is on empowering models with garments and fabrics, not on the set.
All in all, I must confess that not all pieces are to my taste in this “wardrobe” as I am a retro-type person. I love to have fun with peaked shoulders, accented waist etc. that were the staples of the previous wardrobes. However, in general, these pieces of RVDK are quite strong and sure to boost confidence.
Yet I choose to write about this label for another reason – its “humarespectful” couture of RVDK versus “instabeautiful” craze of our days. Because its founder is somehow capable of avoiding all the distractions and cacophony in the fashion world and doing things his way consistently.
It doesn’t mean that his pieces are not worthy of instahype, in fact, totally opposite. He is very instaworthy. Yet, I guess, the below reasons will make one feel more awesome in his pieces because of the values he sticks to:
The approach to couture:
RVDK couture is usually not “inspiration” or “theme” based. His way of creating couture is relaxed, experimental, spontaneous thus playful and more relatable.
The approach to fashion:
He calls his collections “wardrobe”. Because, one may pull up a piece of some good years from her wardrobe to wear. It is not about being seasonal. It is about mindful consumption. It is about building a wardrobe that has both – old and new.
The guts:
In our times it is hard to resist the mainstream and not get pushed into the “acceptable frame” of the time. Somehow he is capable of doing it. While the leviathans and behemoths of the fashion world roar on Instagram and elsewhere, he is whispering his values through his work and commitments. He takes stance, just like any other successful label. But not by creating a public stir, by going out and giving his contribution without noise.
Respect for resources:
In the first paragraph I called him the King of leftover fabrics and it was for a reason. He is notoriously known for his use of leftover and vintage fabrics. Besides being a very responsible and “couture” way of doing it, to me, the results are eccentric with sometimes remarkable and colorful patches.
Empathy:
For the wardrobe of the last year he employed refugee labor. Attention, we are talking about it in a time when Europe probably lives the darkest days of refugee crisis so far.
Preference for nature-given looks
The label vehemently bashes the Instagram filters. And I agree. We use filters to a point, when I lift my head out of my excessively filtered virtual world, I find the colors in the real world quite boring. And this is no good. It makes me depressed.
Well, in a short while, I guess I’ve complied quite a list of reasons for those who choose to create deeper bond with their garments, rather than use them to create another personality.
Again, do not worry, the label is as much instabeautiful as it is humarespectful.
