Get ready for more gorgeous gowns––and a new shoe line.
The SA designer who founded Paolo Sebastian, Paul Vasileff, showcased his autumn / winter collection, the Heirloom collection, to the guests of the Mercedes-Benz Unley event on Thursday. He also announced a shoe line.
“We will be launching a shoe line, and we are very very proud of it,” Vasileff says. “It will be released in about a year.”
Guests of the event, which was supported by Bird in Hand, were the first to hear that news and among the first to view Paolo Sebastian’s new couture gowns, a collection inspired by a tale of timeless romance and a past preserved in time.
The fashion house’s collections always come with a story; This one follows a young girl’s journey into a realm suspended between reality and dream state after discovering her great grandmother’s attic. Upon finding an antique locket hidden within her Great Grandmother’s possessions, the girl uncovers a world that has been hidden from plain sight. Heirloom pays homage to the grandeur of a bygone era, long forgotten under lock and key.
Vasileff said the collection was originally set to showcase in Paris. However, due to the unprecedented implications of COVID-19 and the affiliated mood, the collection had to be rethought.
“I didn’t feel the tone of the initial collection was quite right, it felt too heavy. I wanted to create something lighter, fresher––a collection that would inspire and bring happiness to people during such a trying time,” he says.
“I decided to redesign the collection, and in doing so, I thought about the notion of dressing up; I liked the idea of revisiting memories and finding old heirlooms.”
Featuring a delicate colour palette, soft hues of Bois de Rose are playfully juxtaposed against Piombo grey. Romantic silhouettes and fitted corsets are a nod to the golden majesty of the early 1900s. Re-envisaged for modernity, couture pieces are light and airy, capturing the ideals of transcendent love, nostalgic beauty and connection to another time and place.
Drawing inspiration from the fragility of a precious heirloom, gowns in French tulle and Chantilly lace are adorned with frayed edge and velvet ribbon detailing. Playful skirts and draped crinkle chiffon encapsulate the wonders of the imagination, bringing magic to life in this whimsical collection.
“The collection references the early 1900’s with silhouettes that are a nod to a bygone era. Designs have been re-envisioned into lighter, easy-to-wear, modern pieces with romantic, muted colour tones,” the designer says.
The gowns take anywhere from 100 to 1,000 hours to make, and stand-out pieces such as a double-breasted virgin wool coat with pleated back and the ethereal ball gown, illuminated with silk organza cutwork, showcase this energy.
Symbolising an all-encompassing and everlasting love, the ‘hearts on fire’ gown is illuminated with hand-embroidered locket motifs whilst the mesmerising ruffle dress features one-hundred metres of tulle in exaggerated layers.
Heirloom is reminiscent of an opulent world that pulls at the heartstrings, illustrating the labels dedication to artisanal detail and eternal elegance.
We are eager to see the shoe line, which is sure to have the same beauty and attention to detail.
Find Paolo Sebastian here, and Mercedes-Benz Unley here.