The fantastic animals of Collina Strada

Within Collina Strada’s chimera for AW23, fantasy and surrealism were once again channeled in the form of anthropomorphic representations sheathed in Hillary Taymour’s new couture collection.

Strada’s exploration of nature and that human-animal connection is now elevated to another dimension in this new proposal entitled “Please Don’t Eat My Friends“; a collection that continues to weave the story or AW21’s “Animorphs” trope. A whole elusive universe in which models transform into nymphs or fantastic animals with SFX snouts, pointed ears, beaks, buck teeth and reptile horns, leaping and galloping wildly on the catwalk.

In this sense, Isayama Ffrench was in charge of altering the bodies and appearance of the models through his experimental makeup combined with psychedelic prosthetics that completed the transformation of these fabulous beings.

“Remember how fungi are connected by microscopic filaments under our feet? “How flora and fauna coexist in an intricate, non-linear, non-hierarchical, yet tenderly delicate and complicated balance of mutual benefit and connectivity? How are we all in this together…”, expressed the creative director in sync with her magnificent vision of a reality in which humans live in constant harmony with nature.

A HAUTE COUTURE CHIMERA

The opening of the show was dominated by a series of earth tones, among mesh bodysuits, silky prints and velvet plaid pants, as well as satin dresses with sculptural horns protruding from them. These pieces were followed by other pieces of escapist cut such as crop tops with capybara prints or blouses with bows sprinkled with layers of scales.

In this fantasy world, the experimentation with animal print, and prints in general, stood out in cotton flannel plaid or geometric jacquard suits combined with long velvet dresses. Thus, prints and vibrant colors colored the whole sequence of pieces, ranging from lace camisoles, corsets, ruffled bloomers to cropped sweatshirts or deconstructed knitted sweaters.

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Taymour ended up giving continuity to the anthropomorphic concept in a quite literal way through skin-print strappy denim dresses or satin sweaters with reptile skin prints. He even extended the aesthetic through graphic prints of animal faces, most notably that of her own dog. However, despite the eclecticism and maximalism, the creative director directed this new story towards a much more formal side. A new territory that we could see reflected in dresses with satin bias cut or white dresses with straps and floral appliqués in eternal connection with mother earth.