ZADIG & VOLTAIRE Spring/Summer 2017

Dubai, UAE, October 9, 2016:  You can feel the influence of those unchanging icons who touch our lives, yet remain unreachable. In fact, their images are so perennial that their influence is even deepening. Iggy, David, Mick and Jimi emerge from Cecilia Bönström’s sketches as the leads in the continuing Zadig & Voltaire story. The Spring/Summer 2017 season is more than ever focused on freedom and on a desire and a need for casualness and music.

As the first rays of sunshine hit the pavement, so does the Iggy Pop attitude, mixing masculine with feminine, animal prints with florals, oversized volumes with more fitted shapes, blacks and nearly-blacks against stripy sequins. The lingerie look locks horns with leather; lurex or leather-fringed cashmere sweaters alternate with frilly-sleeved maxi blouses. Red and burgundy gently shift towards more summery shades, chintzy flower patterns take on a more rock'n’roll edge with fringed bib fronts on silk blouses and jumpsuits. Skinny legs are sheathed in leather skirts, matched with western-cut Cara Boots that add shades of desert chic. Ultra-shiny suits are jazzed up with sequinned stripes, while leather fringing on a man’s jacket gives it a light-hearted twist.

Sexy androgyny appears in a new light. Zadig & Voltaire brings out its talismanic suit in blue crêpe. Cecilia Bönström draws on a military vein, embroidering stripes and badges on khaki jackets and shirts, which she stirs up with a chic sports line of fluid trousers with tuxedo-stripes along the sides, neoprene sweatshirts and hoodies and pastel-coloured leather jogging pants.

Plain or patchwork denim and khaki fleece tops take on a faded aspect, as if bleached by sunlight. The stitches form multi-coloured stripes in shades of pastel or simply in immaculate cotton.

Because gritty style doesn’t have to be hard, flowery chiffon dresses and camisoles are as light and flyaway as lingerie, baring the shoulders and adding controlled sensuality to low necklines. Long multi-coloured silk dresses worn under summer furs look more feminine than ever.

No stranger to contemporary art, Zadig & Voltaire drew inspiration from Urs Fischer’s work by applying giant fruit patches on its T-shirts, going so far as to cover Voltaire’s face with a witty slice of lemon. The designer also called on the talents of Virginia Elwood. The well-known Brooklyn tattoo artist recreated a circus-like realm of dancing skeleton magicians and fairy tale tigers, and a world of pirates that scatters skulls and crossbones, or ancient ships amongst the floral patterns. They are embroidered onto denim dresses and trousers, black leather biker jackets and Pilar boots - and even on silk dresses. Ensembles of straw hats, faded denim patchwork jeans and sandy suede Pilar boots channel the spirit of Jimi Hendrix hovering over Glastonbury.

To round off the rollcall of icons, Zadig & Voltaire invokes Mick Jagger, who wore a white suit for his wedding to Bianca. Reworked here in jacquard discreetly sprinkled with sand and gold, this iconic Zadig & Voltaire garment also heralds a capsule wedding line. Full of broderie anglaise dresses, straw hats, metallic gold linen suits, strappy patchwork dresses in pink, blue and white silk, and a golden sand-coloured metallic mesh dress to team with Cara desert-sand suede boots or western-cut suede patchwork sneakers. Broderie anglaise, white python-print summer teddy, fruit patches on T-shirts - even Voltaire’s head hidden by
a lemon.

As for bags, the iconic Candide is reworked in black leather, as well as in python. This season, the Optimiste - rechristened Optimiste Plus - goes back to its original design, but now hangs from an ultra-short shoulder strap in a wide, studded style reminiscent of a guitar strap. The latest arrival on the scene is James, a bag that comes in black leather or real python. Held in the hand or slung over the shoulder on its removable strap, the rectangular design injects a vintage vibe with rounded gussets and a zipped pocket on the front. Then there’s Twist, a quirky take on the traditional bowling bag that reworks it into a more rectangular design with a very marked ‘funnel’ construction on the sides and the familiar signature shoulder strap.