DARREN GRIMES: VISCERAL SPORT: TWO PIECE COLLECTION

Hi guys, I just thought I'd check in and share my latest work. I know I post a lot of work from other designers which brings in the views but now and again I do like to put my own stuff out there. In the hope that one day as I grow my own personal aesthetic and knowledge, recognition will grow alongside of it.

This body of work was inspired by the visceral - it isn't rational, it is visceral. The dreamy hues, the energetic mesh, the foamy fabrics. All taking inspiration from the silhouette of insects, cocoons and the fabrics, proportions and silhouette of American footballers. I designed a collection for a guarded woman, a woman who isn't afraid to don sport luxe garments that exaggerate her shoulders, that guard her face in a helmet like fashion, or sweatpants with laser cut leather panels. I hope you guys enjoy the rather limited photographs I have so far, showing you the process from the customer story board to the specification drawing to the pattern cutting and then eventually a 3D finished garment. The garments are due to be modelled and photographed professionally soon which I'll also upload to the blog. 

Carven: Autumn/Winter '15: Review & .GIF Goodies

Alexis Martial and Adrien Caillaudaud
Upon hearing of the departure of Guillaume Henry last year, I was saddened that Carven was to be without the man who transformed the sleepy couturier into one of the most commercially viable brands in the luxury market. The brand itself began to die as soon as Madame Carven's trademark styles were no longer considered a dream worth buying into, unlike the clothes of say Saint Laurent which are still considered timeless classics today. Guillaume Henry pumped the brand with sport inspired garments and a subtle amount of sex appeal until retailers couldn't get enough, in 2013 Carven was sold in over 600 stores, not bad for a brand that has been sold on more times than Alexander Wang's barcode print.

With Henry's departure myself and other fans of the brand were apprehensive for the arrival of not one, but two fresh faces taking the place as Carven's creative directors. Alexis Martial and Adrien Caillaudaud. 

Liliac mini skirts, white organza shirt with cloud puffs attached repetitively

Caillaudaud previously worked at Marc Jacobs and most recently Givenchy, alongside creative director Riccardo Tisci, where he worked on shoes and accessories. He is mainly responsible for the Carven autumn/winter 2015 collection which will be shown in Paris this month, as co-artistic director colleague Alexis Martial joined the company later.

Martial was poached from Italian label Iceberg, where he was creative director. Previous to that the Parisian was the creative director of Paco Rabanne in 2012 after a stint at Givenchy designing knitwear.

Modern foam fabrics and floral jacquards

Martial and Caillaudaud's debut however was everything and more that I hoped it would be, with  Adrien Caillaudaud stating they had 'electrified' the brand, "She is a nice Parisienne, but now we want to give her a nice twist, to electrolyze her." Liliac mini skirts, white organza shirt with cloud puffs attached repetitively. The collection was updated with modern foam fabrics and floral jacquards. 

Martial and Caillaudaud met 12 years ago—on their first day of fashion school—and have long plotted to work together. If this collection is anything to go by, I can't wait to see just how far they can go with their 'electrifying' of Carven.