Desigual x Maitrepierre
new collection
9/26/22
Barcelona, September 2022.
Maitrepierre's first collection for Desigual is hitting selected stores and desigual.com. The French designer, a protégé of Jean Paul Gaultier and a regular at Paris Fashion Week, makes his debut for the brand with a collection that fuses his DNA with that of Desigual. In fact, Maitrepierre has delved into the brand's archives to draw on past Desigual creations for some of his designs.
The collection reflects the avant-garde look of the young designer, who is yet to turn 30, and the inspiration he derives from the codes of haute couture and digital art.
CRÉATURE / CRÉATEUR: the dialogue that inspires the collection.
Mantises are unique, as if they came from a laboratory or another planet. Their ear is on their chest; their heart, in their abdomen. They have the appearance of a hybrid between nature and technology. Fascinated by their morphology, Maitrepierre has made them the focal point of his 100% sustainable collection for Desigual, formulating them in jacquards and prints.
"My aim," said Alphonse Maitrepierre himself, "was to create a print that, from a distance, appears to be a classic floral print, but when you get closer it transforms into something strange and disconcerting." The dialogue between creature and creator yields an interesting effect. "By working on the design from a digital and 3D perspective," the designer added, "we achieved the illusion of real insects on the fabric."
The collection contrasts motifs and plains, volume and stretch, black and white, orange and fuchsia, while acid-washed denim coexists with damask and cotton.
The #DesigualxMaitrepierre capsule - twenty garments, featuring dresses, trousers, jackets, sweaters, and even a pair of shoes and two versions of a leather bag - is inspired by nature, conceived from technology and has crystallised in truly avant-garde looks.
The collection, look by look
Close up, the print on this dress loses its romantic and floral aura and reveals its true nature: a latticework of praying mantises in a sci-fi colour scheme.
The collection's signature print is back once again, applied to trousers and a stretch top. The recurring mantis theme is now the inspiration for the collection's two bags, in different sizes and colourways. The total black look in washed denim and the XXL sweatshirt with a knot on the chest complete the more sober segment of the collection.
Acid-washed fuchsia denim is undeniably the star of these three pieces, which are perfect for wearing separately or putting together a monochromatic total look with trousers, skirt and a jacket.
A T-shirt dress with a lower part that can be layered as a top over the upper part, an ensemble (trousers and jacket) in denim featuring panels with different washes, and a deconstructed maxi shirt dress: the pieces in the #DesigualxMaitrepierre collection exhibit ingenious features that add a new dimension.
A jacquard vest top, with the mantis rendered from a digital art perspective, is one of the collection's two knit pieces. In addition to the bags, the shoes - a mix between pumps and sneakers - and a felt cloche hat are highlights among the accessories.
About Maitrepierre
A graduate of La Cambre in Brussels, French designer Alphonse Maitrepierre set up his own label in 2018 - after working with Jean Paul Gaultier, Chanel and Acne Studios - and christened it with his surname: Maitrepierre.
In his studio in the French capital, he creates ready-to-wear garments that celebrate the codes of haute-couture from an artistic and digital perspective, with an unwavering commitment to sustainability, from the supply chain to textiles and processes.
Still under 30, Maitrepierre won the 2021 Grands Prix de la Création, awarded by the City of Paris, and has consolidated his status as one of the most promising talents on the European fashion scene.
Balenciaga's and Valentino's at Paris Fashion Week. This September, he is back at the French capital's fashion week to present his upcoming SS23 collection.
Indeed, his FW22/23 collection "Nostalgia" was showcased between
About Desigual
Desigual is an international fashion brand that was established in Barcelona in 1984. It is famous for the individuality and unique character of its creations, which aim to bring positivity and authenticity to thousands of people who want to express the best version of themselves. The company currently has a workforce of over 2,600 employees and is present in 109 countries through 10 sales channels, 393 monobrand stores and 6 product categories: Woman, Man, Kids, Accessories, Shoes and Sport.