For Autumn-Winter 2012/13, Berlin-based designer duo Annelie Augustin and Odély Teboul teamed up with fashion photographer Stefan Milev, set designer Nini Gollong and sound designer Hamid Bagherzadeh to present their new collection at the French multi-brand concept store L’Eclaireur, located in the heart of Le Marais district.
The objective was to put the upcoming winter collection with its opulent, post-romantic, and dizzyingly intricate lace and macramé pieces in context. As it goes, for many young designers lacking the funds for a catwalk fashion show, coming up with creative alternatives is vital and crucial. In Augustin Teboul’s case it was done with success: Nini Gollong crafted an installation named “Crystal Bloom” in which she created a serene atmosphere by swathing one delicate dress in 900 Feng Shui crystals, bathed in light and yet immersed in soothing darkness.
Was Gollong aware of the fact that Augustin Teboul is about the same state of mind – merging a dreamy nostalgia with contemporary aesthetics? “Not really, it was completely by chance. I am generally fascinated with light and reflection – crystals and mirrors are just part of my toolbox”, explains Gollong. “I wanted to create a place to ease your mind, that would somehow be defined by natural and yet modern elements. I created reinforced laced-mirrors, which built a path to the wooden block by Or Design on which the dress was hanging.”
Hamid’s enigmatic music and Stefan’s nostalgic pictures, somewhere between photography and painting, were also a perfect fit for the collection, which was filled with moulded and padded leather, crochet finishing and details, soft draping and heavy embroideries in black. “We are always about sheer, black aesthetics. We like how contrary elements such as raw leather and delicate crochet merge together – a mixture of rock ‘n’ roll and poetry. The challenge of being in between couture and ready-to-wear is what keeps us going”, explains Odély Teboul. The designers are also inspired by Surrealism, especially by André Breton’s Exquisite Corpse word game. Strangely enough though we can’t see any exploration of randomness and fortuity in Augustin Teboul’s collection. On the contrary; their garments are precise pieces of art, where even the smallest handcrafted detail has a carefully thought-out role – this is what makes them worthy of the couture attribution.