For the second year in a row, 1ER MAI was part of the fashion designers selected to present their creations during Festival Mode + Design, an outdoor event bringing together artists and the general public around fashion, music and dance at Montreal’s Place des Festivals, Quartier des Spectacles.

 

Titled “Human Nature”, the fashion show included old and new pieces, made mostly from upcycled fabrics. The staging, inspired by the Atacama Desert (Chile) and its infamous open-air textile landfill, addressed the themes of overconsumption and disposable fashion. Under the electro sound “Planisphère” from Justice, the models strolled in rhythm around piles of clothes evoking the imprint of humans on nature.

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The straight and loose cuts put forward graphic jeans patchworks and arts and crafts techniques such as weaving and macrame, through structured jackets and kimonos. The bomber jacket, the brand’s flagship piece, was showcased in a variety of textiles – jeans, corduroy, printed cotton, brocade – and in reversible and unisex versions. Cropped overalls with waist cutouts and back bow closure reminiscent of the Japanese “obi” brought a touch of lightness and poetry to the collection.

 

The collection intertwined inspirations, as designer Ysaline Lannes draws from multiple aesthetic influences (from her travels and her own cultural heritage) as well as from the history of clothing and its role as a social and identity marker (counter-culture, history of denim, uniforms).

 

To close the show, model Bryan Beauseigle wore a kimono as a wedding dress – final piece in the traditions of haute couture runways. The kimono ended in a train made entirely of pants that seemed to drip down the cement steps of Place des Festivals and fade from indigo to grey as if to blend in with the urban surroundings.