Ronald Van Der Kemp repurposes discarded flowers and brooches for his new SS22 couture collection.
Pat Cleveland was the main muse for Ronald Van Der Kemp’s couture presentation on Tuesday in Paris. The designer featured the legendary supermodel and her new single as part of a collection video showing digitally, made in classic RVDK style from scraps, extra material and accessories that the studio had accumulated from previous collections.
The looks featured an array of techniques from applique and embellishing to draping and weaving, all representing the different hats the RVDK woman wears in her life as she embodies the extravagance, fragility and other fragments of the human personality. Opening the presentation, Pat can be seen in a scrumptiously sculpted tuxedo black gown with an emphasis on the power shoulders. The looks then morph into colourful hand-painted gowns and glass stained sculptural skirts matched with leather bandeau tops. The amalgamation of wide, sharp silhouettes with minimal bandeau-like tops truly defines the layers to one’s personality - sometimes we feel dark, romantic and powerful in life, other times we just want to have fun and let loose.
Digging into the archive and repurposing reworked denim offcuts, discarded flowers and vintage mother of pearl, RVDK manages to showcase that intricate detailing can stem from repurposed materials, that further solidify the message that visionaries can create beauty from a mixture of past ideas and concepts and recycle them to give a new meaning that paints out a current mirror of elegance.
