Hyun Mi Nielsen presented her couture collection « Summer Solstice » fall-winter 2017-2018 in Paris. The designer worked for several years with the biggest stars of the fashion industry. Lee McQueen chose her by hand for her team where she worked as a project manager under Sarah Burton at Alexander McQueen, and she became Studio Director at Givenchy and Balenciaga. In 2016, she launched her French label Hyun Mi Nielsen.
The collection is laced with traces of history. Hyun Mi Nielsen’s nostalgic fascination with haute couture is intact, yet it is marked by a transitioning towards daywear. A trapeze dress with an over- dimensional leg-of-mutton sleeve trailing on the floor is twisted couture. Vintage denim, reworked into a fitted top, bears the marks of history and treats workwear as couture. A large coat with a panel of ruffles at the back combines functional clothing with sculptural surprises. Lattice bell-bottom trousers is a reminder of Hyun Mi Nielsen’s ubiquitous interest in the 70s, whereas patent black trousers, offset by a large white zipper, are sensual and contemporary.
The juxtapositions of workwear and occasion wear in black, ivory, yellow, red and denim blue make the collection both wearable and extraordinary.
Classical couture fabrics, including embroidered lace, moire, tulle and taffeta, are counterbalanced with patent black, printed snake and cotton jacquards.
The presentation takes inspiration from Hyun Mi Nielsen’s Scandinavian background. A Midsummer maypole, in all its phallic glory, represents the summer solstice when magical elements are strongest. What is usually a white-dressed ritual of unyielding joy, is in the vision of Huyn Mi Nielsen a gloomy ring dance with a gang of punks.
Accessories for the collection are collaborations with jewellery designer Catalina Brenes and shoe designer Zoe Lee.
Credit: Hyun Mi Nielsen