INTRODUCING A LITTLE MYSTERY WITH YOUR FASHION

One of the very best things about covering fashion is that it is always a voyage of discovery. Mixed with the brilliantly familiar, the designers who show their often magnificent looks, season after season, is the New York runway rookie that kind of blows you away.

This season, the element of surprise traveled all the way from Transylvania, Romania. Dorin Negrau used a myriad of fabrics and textures to bring to life his inspiration, the myth of the vampire Dracula, or, more precisely, the vampire Dracula duality. This matters because his interpretation was all about mixing opposites to create beauty.

Leather paired with lace, flimsy cottons and gauze took on hard edges, sleek hair was covered in spider webs. His true inspiration came from his home country and the traditional costumes made by the people who live there. There were knits and embroideries, using techniques taught to him by his grandmother.

Of course, the main colors of the collection were black and white, with a stream of blood red running through some of the looks. The makeup was scary enough to evoke images of the living dead. But when you look at the clothes on their own, they were beautiful, feminine, made with the love he has for his native Transylvania.

In his notes, Negrau talks about his Transylvanian origins, which he says are “manifested by an eclectic free spirit”. Yes, his collection is eclectic and, yes, it would take quite the free spirit to wear some of his more daring looks. But this is a collection you won’t soon forget. He’s taken a bite out of Fashion Week, and I can’t wait to see what he’ll come up with next.

© Red Stiletto Media 2014 | Photography: Anton Brookes