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The brilliance of Ann Demeulemeester is her ability to change so much by changing so little. And while her AW12 show might not have seemed like much of a revolution to the average eye, the designer’s vast pack of devotees knew that something quite extraordinary had just taken place in the world of the D-Meister. As her dark legion of feather-clad girls came out for the finale, a deafening applause maximised the decibel inside the Theatre National de Chaillot. “It’s true that the feeling is really different from last season. But for me it doesn’t feel that different, because I’m a person of contrasts. Things are never what they seem,” Demeulemeester told i-D online backstage. The silhouettes were softer to a degree that almost paid homage to a sense of mid-19th Century romanticism. Indeed, the draped jackets – some of which appeared in an unexpected cobalt blue – weren’t far removed from the riding jackets of said era. Demeulemeester spoke of poetry, like the intentions behind the raven-feathered headpieces, which were born out of her love of the birds, which surround her in her countryside home – “they stand for freedom, for love, for intrigue” – and the structure they’d contributed to the new silhouette. And not unlike the annual travels of birds, the Ann Demeulemeester woman suddenly found herself in a new, less severe climate – which seemed to suit her. “My woman never changes. She evolves. I think every collection is an evolution. Last season I was dreaming of this woman, who was writing poetry in the desert, but now she’s back in the city. For me these things are guidelines for certain attitudes and for the essence of the clothes. But I don’t work with things. I work with feelings,” Demeulemeester said.
Text: Anders Christian Madsen
Photography: Mitchell Sams
Click here to see our AW12 Womenswear coverage in full.
