Spring 2021 Haute Couture has come to a close and the fashion industry’s long standing traditions are falling. At the close of the week, AREA NYC debuted a couture line, rivaling the archaic requirements of what qualifies as haute couture. The Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode is the governing body of French fashion that dictates what houses are true haute couture houses, with some foundational rules being having a Paris atelier and showing two collections per year. However, this year AREA NYC announced they would show their own haute couture collection ignoring needed recognition from The Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode.
AREA NYC was founded in 2014 by Beckett Fogg and Piotrek Panszczyk in New York City. The brand prides itself on its modern designs that intertwine glamour and exploration of varying perceptions of beauty. In the couture debut, AREA stated their intention, “For our debut Haute Couture collection we wanted to highlight our passion for custom tailoring. Every type of body is beautiful and unique in its own way and we wanted to highlight that by playing with a range of silhouettes created to complement the wearer, showcasing that beauty and craft can feel exclusive in it’s core but at the same time include a range of body types. We like to create our own visual fantasy through fashion and craft, but on the other hand it’s important that our viewer can envision them selves in our pieces.” AREA reinterpretted couture and focused on going beyond the intricacy of designs, into creating sculptures out of models. The garments manipulated the models’ bodies intentionally, purposefully, and uniquely. While couture will forever remain escapism, AREA did not rely on fairytale silhouettes, projected images of the past, like other houses to achieve this. The fashion industry has had a difficult time grappling with how to function and display designs of excess during a pandemic. AREA managed to create a collection of opulence that blended historical fashion influences and futuristic designs, allowing it to exist in the present. The decision to show a couture line without catering to outdated rules and the modernity of the designs allowed AREA to achieve what other houses cannot, fitting amongst these times.
Was it the most groundbreaking collection? For the current moment of fashion that question and the designs themselves, are not as important as how this collection is indicative of larger changes within the industry. AREA released this collection and shifted to its own showing schedule all together, now producing four collections of RTW per year and biannual Haute Couture collections. Other fashion houses are opting for a seasonless approach as well, Gucci announced last summer it would be no longer operating under the coveted fashion schedule in order to focus on the creative process of fashion. The pandemic is breaking down the structure of the fashion industry and houses like AREA are using it as an opportunity to alter the elitism of the industry. This show is demonstrative of the democratization of fashion and the rise of designers outside established names. In a 2019 Vogue profile by Steff Yotka, co founder Piotrek Panszczyk said, “In the end, the goal is to rethink the future of clothing and of people. How can we get there through design?” Through this collection, AREA did that, they blended tradition of intensely intricate craftsmanship with modern designs and welcomed a new wave in the industry.
Click here to see AREA NYC’s show and the looks from the collection.