The collection, a collaboration with the Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation, reads as an allusion to the quest of sin: its definition, its arbiters, and those with the authority to cast judgment. Yet to invoke Mapplethorpe without using the material most associated with his work would be nothing short of a sin indeed; thus black calfskin leather served as the collection’s material baseline, and I’d like to think of it as its sacred essence, too. The use of calfskin extended from Saint Sernin’s statement pieces such as the cleavage bralette, the iconic LdSS riff on bumsters (the generous butt-flashing pants adorned with lace-up cutout at the rear) to aviator jackets which nodded towards the photographer’s flamboyant self-portraits. That ‘leather attitude’ was likewise found in brilliantly flared cut pants, on look 8.
To contrast the kink — while evoking the contrasting nature of Mapplethorpe’s progression from early squarlor to later glamor — the designer turned to his extensive archive of still-life florals. Hand-cut velvet and lacquered appliqués were fused in frank fashion onto vests, slip dresses and blouses, while halter necks and gowns were given their fair share of the motif through meshwork encrusted in crystals. The iconography functioned not unlike the way in which bows are seemingly licensed onto every surface of our outfits in contemporary fashion; an overdose. Saint Sernin's flowers felt akin to geometrics in Cubism; they embodied a logo approved for its silent luxury. However, similar to when Do presented his color blocks in honor of Lang last season, the repetition exhausted its essence and thus left us feeling overfed. However, while their quantity ceased to evoke the poetry of their reference, the motifs still nodded towards Mapplethorpe-qualities — his ability to tease the devil out of the angel, “the darkly erotic in the ostensibly innocent,” as the show notes suggested.
Elsewhere, the silhouettes were clinched in an hourglass shape celebrated through use of belts, all crafted in leather with punctured steel-hole appearances. Saint Sernin has incorporated ropes into some of his earlier collections — an element that is dominant in several of Mapplethorpe's works, such as 'Bondage' and 'Unique.' Yet, the choice to swap the earthy for the gruff this season struck another blow for the BDSM inspiration behind this collection. Likewise, chests were bare (no hands on nips for this house!), yet I'm still impatiently waiting for a male silhouette to slide into a gown, given the brand's queer advocacy.
The devil, as they say, is in the details, and this season’s details were created in collaboration with Tous and Diego Villareal Vagujhelyi. “Jewelry is an understated but incredibly important part of Mapplethorpe’s work,” Saint Sernin observed, evoking a certain scene for those of us who have read Patti Smith’s Just Kids, where it takes Mapplethorpe hours to select his jewelry before heading out to Studio 54. These brass embellishments were conceivably more devilish, but then again, aren’t beauty and the devil the same thing?
The LdSS dedication to nudity and various states of undress was present even at the afterparty. The well-loved little shirt/big pants outfit recipe became leather harness/leather pants or no shirt/barely pants. I went home wearing fewer articles than I came with— nothing too scandalous, I just lost my tie, which is now likely somewhere in the trash out behind The Standard.
As we left, some guests despaired with the likes of, “I didn’t get to make out with anyone tonight!” and “I wanted to find love!” It pains me to be the one to break this to you all, but your soulmate will not be found at BOOM. This week, I spent more time there than I did in my own bed, and while I’m not complaining, I doubt that makes me wife material. Some places are built to make marriages, others are built to throw good parties. And, while you might not find love at Ludovic de Saint Sernin, you’ll be in for one Mapplethorpian night.
I hate being asked any version of this question, but tell me about your style.
As I’m getting older in my career, I'm learning that all of my work has a sexy undertone to it, which at first was not intentional at all, but has kind of become my brand in a way. It’s funny because I always was this super tomboy growing up, and now, even if it’s menswear or something it still has a sexy undertone. And I think that's why me and Romina mesh so well, because I think the Romina girl is sexy.
When you’re dressing models, and clients… is that how you dress yourself?
Yes and no… I think there are undertones of my personal style in my work but it depends what the shoot is for. I guess there’s always a bit of me in it, and I hope the viewer starts to see that, but it’s not all about me! I wish it was!
This is your first time styling a runway presentation! How do you find your role as a stylist changes when working on an in-person presentation as opposed to, say, an editorial?
With editorial, you can obviously fake so much, especially when you know the specific angle it’s being shot from. And this needs to be 360, and livable, and movable – the models need to be able to walk around and move in it. It can’t just be like a static photo.
How did you meet Romina?
We met through one of the models, Born… she was like “this designer keeps hitting me up and wants to hang out” and I was like “tell her to come out!” and we went bowling one night, and have been close ever since. I think it’s so nice that we have a friendship first…I’ve been looking to work with my friends more.
That’s where the magic happens!
The best work happens when you’re working with your friends. I think we understand each other and both appreciate each other's’ eye and vision.
But this is the first time you two have collaborated?
Yes… we have been in talks of collaborating on a collection together, so she invited me to come on board and do the show with her. It was actually supposed to be a more Ready-to-Wear collection, but the direction changed to more of a couture collection. So hopefully in the future we will be working together on a Ready to Wear line.
How long have you guys been working on this collection?
Like two weeks! And that was when I started casting and talking about looks… we were really inspired by the girls. We definitely had looks we wanted on them, but they really inspired the way in which it all unfolded, the hair, et cetera.
Romina works with very architectural shapes, and as a stylist it seems like you could either lean into the distortion of the body and the chaos of it all, or you could take a more minimalistic approach to styling and let the shapes speak for themselves. Where do you think you landed with this collection?
I think it’s a mix. The shapes and styling have obviously been inspired by the womanly figure, and also the shapes of bugs. You can see on Born’s look, she has a huge hump on her butt like a bug. Obviously her clothes are so structured and her origami is insane when it’s molded on the body, but it has to be a mix of both since the collection progresses from covered up to undressing.
As a stylist a lot of the time you’re character-building…who do you think the Romina girl is?
Well, this collection is interesting because if you look at Romina’s brand as a whole, it’s super colorful and metallic. Even when she first showed me the collection I was like “woah… it’s all black”. It’s something that she hasn’t really done before but I think it’s been inspired by the Romina New York girl that wants to wear all black and be sexy. I think she’s obviously sexy and confident…. I don’t want to say ‘a boss bitch’ but you know, she’s in charge!
There’s a lot of confidence in the clothes.
Yes, you have to have confidence to wear her clothes.
Are you a Romina girl? Do you wear Romina’s clothes?
I’m a Romina girl! I’ve borrowed pieces from her before, but I actually just bought my first Romina piece and it’s the classic cocoon hood. I love it, I wore it for New Years and it was amazing.
