Denisa Nová: Japanese Grunge

(jiří macek) Denisa Nová remembers the Japanese in Paris. For this reason, she has designed the new Grunge 80’s collection for this spring and summer. As the band Please The Trees accompanied the models on the catwalk of Na zábradlí theatre, Kurt Cobain levitated above the stage.

There is a range of dark colours in the collection: black, grey, beige, blue, and magenta. There are loosened lines, tops with prints by Klára Ambrůzová, intimacy, and garments cut for men. There are boots for musketeers, a top hat, and even a band that seemed to be talking to audience. The models appeared on stage as if incidentally, i.e. from the trap cellar or from corridors reminiscent of long forgotten Seattle clubs. However, they all looked as if they had been glimpsed somewhere between dream and night, between man and woman. A magical show.

In order to reveal the source of her inspiration, Denisa Nová states, “I did not think about this year’s trends. I preferred thinking about what I have always liked: I am still very fond of the things that Yohji Yamamoto brought to Paris in the 1980s. I still find them very powerful. I think he has influenced me the most.” But don’t worry, her collection is not a mere copy of the legendary collection Hiroshima Chic. Only the atmosphere of that time may have spilt over into this collection. Its individual elements fit together like a puzzle with a thousand options for the final picture.

The fashion performance that the Fashion Designer of the Year 2007 for the Czech Grand Design Awards prepared in the Na zábradlí theatre was another step in experimenting while presenting new collections. Whereas in the We Speak Image project there was a classical orchestra, at Designblok the motions of the models and images were completely minimized.

Explaining how her show came to existence, Denisa Nová says, “The idea of the whole concept evolved gradually when I was working on the costumes for the Red Light Winter performance at the Na zábradlí theatre. Thus, I met the director Zdeněk Janáček and Václav Havelka, who introduced to Please The Trees. The whole preparatory process was so pleasant. I think everybody enjoyed it, even the models. One could see that they were older girls. We got along really well. It was wonderful work.”

There was a nighttime atmosphere below a decadent chandelier with cobwebs from a real historic theatre. As night turned to morning, models Kristina Chrásteková, Olo, Vladimíra Michálková, and Kristina Voců brought us into the world of fashion without us even noticing it in such a self-evident and ingenuous way as Serge Gainsbourg, or perhaps, Kurt Cobain. A brilliant performance. A great collection.

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