From Nothingness Comes Somethingness At Vivienne Tam’s F/W 09 Presentation
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[Vivienne Tam and Models. Photos by CHANCE YEH for PMc]
Vivienne Tam’s F/W 09 Collection is inspired by “An Exploration of Nothingness.“ When I first heard this it reminded me of one of my favorite restaurants, Asolare, in St. John USVI. In Greek, Asolare means “the leisurely passing of time without purpose”. From this time of seemingly no purpose, great things can come about - we’ve all been told, “Sometimes the best thing you can do is nothing.” Vivienne Tam’s current collection started with the Asian philosophy of creating an empty space that gives way to something new and unexpected.
More story and photos below:
The inherent beauty of the Chinese character for nothingness inspired Tam and she used the character as a pattern in her collection, weaving the actual character as written by master calligrapher Dong Yangzi throughout. Just like a good DJ does with music, Vivienne Tam took the character of nothingness and oversampled it, repeated it and amplified it in several different ways to create a unique print, texture and fashion expression. It is hard to put into words what the result is, but it works within the supreme collection.
The fun/festive presentation drew a lot of fashionable and loyal Vivienne Tam supporters who sipped on Veuve Clicquot and MetroMint water as they swooned over the fashions. Spotted in the attractive crowd were Michelle Williams, Ann Curry, Bebe Neuwirth, Lorenzo Borghese, Whitney Thompson, Fabiola Beracasa, Jackie Astier, Annie Churchhill, Poppy Delevigne, Poppy De Villeneuve, Lydia Fenet, Amy Gruenhut, Genevieve Jones, Annie Lai, Gillian Miniter, Emma Snowdon-Jones, Andrea Tese, Alexis Tobin and Carolina von Humboldt.
Noteworthy aspects of the collection are her signature deep red which was complemented with a spectrum of rich jewel tones – magenta, crimson and eggplant on substantial fabrics like tweed, herringbone, melton and more feminine fabrics like silk satins, chiffons, duchesse stain and of course charmeuses.
I also got a look at the much anticipated HP “Clutch” laptop with signature Vivienne Tam outer design, which I have been waiting for since Fashion Week in September. This tiny laptop, weighing just about 2 pounds is a fashionista/blogger’s dream. At the recent Erin Fetherston show, I sat behind Suzy Menkes as she fiercely typed up reviews of the show she just attended while waiting for the next one to start. Her laptop was nothing special. What if she had the HP Clutch, so much smaller and lighter; a fashion accessory for a fashion authority? Brilliant. This utilitarian tech/fashion accessory will revolutionize communication and the ease and speed at which information is transferred AND whoever is doing it is going to look fashionable doing so.
Bianca Pratt, Bebe Neuwirth, Vivienne Tam
Emma Snowdon-Jones, Fabiola Beracasa
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