The AW1112 collection shown at Paris fashion week this March is Heimstone’s 9th collection.
I am discovering them for the first time. The brand was created in 2007, by Alix Petit and her friend Delphine Delafon whom she met while working as a stylist with Michel Klein.
Heimstone flagship boutique at 23 rue du Cherche Midi, 75006 Paris. Also sold in over 10 countries around the world.
The inspiration for their collections is as big as the world and the attention to detail is as focused as a single stitch. Most of their inspiration comes from their travels around the world. Most recently a coup de coeur from the Unisted States which is also where they hunt down the items that act as décor in their boutique, but are more of an integration of the style of clothing that they create than they are simply decoration.
It is obvious that these are travelers, when you look at their leather-work and bags. When you travel you need something sturdy, secure, versatile and full of pockets!
Other hints of their traveling inspritation are much more subtle, such as the images they use to make their silk and coton prints. Below you see a coton blouse where the image has been taken from Google maps, after a storm in Scandinavian country where the trees had all been uprooted and were floating on the water. The images taken from that Google maps view has been repeated over and over on the fabric print.
You’ll see on the two following pieces a printed silk with an image that was taken, again from Google maps, during the volcanic ash episode.
Clothing inspired by catastrophic events in nature…
In addition to inspiration from natural disasters and the United States, this collection is also inspired from a trip to Mexico. The result is far from the typical cliché type of designs, and is wearable in Paris, on a road trip, or where ever your travels may take you.
Throughout the collection we see a beautiful elf-like green hue that has a calming effect, a natural tendency and an ability to spark the stylist imagination. Green is often seen as a difficult color to wear, but they have incorporated it nicely into all aspects of this collection. The natural fabrics are a pleasant feature of this brand as well. High quality leathers, raw and delicate silks that feel like a dream, wools, cottons… it’s all real. Real fabrics. Real inspirations. Real style. Real design. We will be following this brand, hopefully for years to come!
By Melissa Ladd / www.pretemoiparis.com