The month of February traditionally wears its’ white coat but is just as invariably colored red on February 14th, Valentine’s Day, the feast of lovers. If some designers have made this color their emblematic mark (Louboutin soles, Valentino red, Coco lipstick, from Chanel of course), others live the passion red in broad daylight. But who are the famous fashion couples, linked to the city as well as behind the scenes of the fashion shows?
In the “traditional” version of the couple, there are Vivienne Westwood & Malcolm Mclaren, Stella Mccartney and Alasdhair Willis or Rick Owens and Michèle Lamy. But a strong current of freedom in love has taken over the fashion world in recent years, giving way to universal love, the love that takes responsibility and is displayed without complexes or taboos. Love that is simply lived.
Viktor and Rolf
A real societal evolution is taking place around sexual freedom. A whole LGBT community is freeing itself from the archetype of the couple, from all the established codes, freeing itself from all constraints. Conventions are being shaken up, differences assumed, feelings liberated, the sexuality of couples, gays, lesbians, or non-binary decomplexed.
Rick Owens and Michele Lamy
If Pierre Bergé and Yves Saint Laurent, a legendary duo united beyond death, had already paved the way in the 1960s, contemporary fashion geniuses demystify the heterosexual couple, no longer hesitating to come out and publicly display their love. Tom Ford & Richard Buckley, Dolce & Gabbana and Viktor & Rolf write their stories by turning their differences into a strength, their atypical pair into a creative booster.
After the long battle of marriage for all, a hybrid stylist goes even further in the process. Dilara Findikoglu proposes through her collection “Die For Love” inclusive wedding dresses with a gothic aesthetic, for men, women and no gender.
Another woman, Helen Bender, is moving away from traditional conventions by adapting to the new needs of a changing society. With her brand “Mode Abyssale”, the German designer responds to the demands of lesbians who want to get married. She adapts to specific profiles or requests, revisiting formal wear with the harmony of the couple’s clothing as the main driving force behind her creations.
More than in any other environment, fashion encourages self-acceptance and that of others. And if beyond its consumerist aspect, red hearts, bouquets of flowers or chocolates, Valentine’s Day became more generally the day of tolerance? There would then be 364 other days left for the complicity and routine of daily life to become the best proof of love?