Matières Fécales is not just further proof that anything can sound chic in French. It is also Paris fashion’s Next Big Little Thing. The Little is necessary because founding couple Hannah Rose Dalton and Steven Raj Bhaskaran, who first met at pattern-cutting school in Montreal a decade ago, have shaped a “post-human aesthetic” that is as much about alienation as seeming alien. Being niche is central.
Paris’s establishment of the conventionally misunderstood came out in communal force to support the couple over two salon shows at the Hotel Le Marois this afternoon. Those creepy contact lenses were 10 a penny in the human bolus congested behind the front gates: there were more platforms than in the Gare du Nord. Slipping into a van after the first show, meanwhile, were Rick Owens and Michele Lamy, scary godparents of the scene and long-standing supporters of Dalton and Bhaskaran. Asked for her review, Lamy dropped a double thumbs-up and bared her teeth.
The designers cited McQueen as their chief fashion hero (Daphne Guinness came today to bestow blessing), alongside Owens and image maker Nick Knight. These influences were evident in a collection that opened with strictly darted, strong shouldered black wool tailoring whose fluted sleeves were zippered for extra expression. Tattered edged knits and pale bouclé suits were both distressed and impressively constructed. Outerwear featured emphasized collars fronted with D-rings for padlocks or leashes.
There was a handbag whose halfpipe topline echoed the tailoring’s shoulders. More platforms, McQueen reminiscent, were made in collaboration with Christian Louboutin: his scarlet soles have never seemed more fitting. Evening dresses with welt-like slashed diagonal cut outs across the chest, classically shaped gowns fashioned from mummy wrappings of fabric, Dalton’s closing winged spirit wedding dress, some fiercely shredded denim, and a savagely Guinness-appropriate faux fur were additional bodies in this debut show’s purposefully far out universe.
The richly mixed cast wore facial facades achieved through the distinctive make up artistry that the couple are already known for. Said Bhaskaran: “A lot of people from the cast are exactly the same as us. And, you know, we’re a small community, but there are a lot of us that are interested in the post-human aesthetic. And at the same time we all kind of help each other, giving courage, especially during these times.” The applause that thundered at this show’s close was very human. This was a strong debut from an entity that should become even stronger once it begins to explore ideas more radically beyond those of its inspirations.