ALL IN TIME: In another example of how some designers are no longer constrained by seasonal fashion calendars, Marc Bouwer chose to showcase his latest haute couture collection with an in-person screening of a 10-minute film featuring his glittering gowns , evening looks and a sprinkling of sportswear. .
To give the reveal an added dimension, some of the models who appeared in the film attended the event and cocktail party wearing Marc Bouwer. But the designer didn’t want to reveal his latest designs before the film debuted, so they kept looks from his previous collections. About 110 people turned out for the gathering, which included cocktails at the Soho Works outpost on Washington Street in New York.
Marc Bouwer had models wearing patterns from previous collections to keep a secret.
Courtesy photo
Bouwer said Monday that the timing was in line with July being Europe’s haute couture month. All models are custom and will be custom ordered with prices starting at $7,000 and going up to around $20,000. While the collection is mostly evening wear, there are some elements of sportswear, including a three-piece suit and miniskirt, a tight jumpsuit with capris and another bell-bottom jumpsuit.
Bouwer said he explained to attendees that he is often asked what the theme of a collection is, and he believes that “you don’t necessarily need a theme to make great clothes.”
That said, the designer allowed his 2022-23 haute couture collection to be “an ode to women in all their different faces – from girl to goddess, dominatrix to diva, warrior to waif…” he said. “My wife is fearless and fun and she’s colorful.”
In addition to thanking the models for the “many hours of fitting” the collection and shoot required, Bouwer singled out hairstylist Denis Boyd, makeup artist Jordan Sawyer and photographer Duke Winn, who has collaborated with Bouwer in the past, for Thanks.
The designer chose someone close to home to orchestrate the film from start to finish. His husband, Pedro Oberto, directed, filmed, edited and sound-checked the short film. Winn shot the pictures for the film and acted as second cameraman. Before Friday night, only Bouwer, Oberto and company president Paul Margolin had seen the film, which was shot at Pier 59, in its entirety. For added sound effects, audible traces of sounds, footsteps, whispers, echoes, bells and breathing were added.
Earlier this year, Bouwer also used his artistic skills in a different way. Some of his paintings of Marilyn Manson were animated and included in the two-part HBO series “Phoenix Rising,” a documentary that was produced and directed by the designer’s neighbor and friend Amy Berg.
“Because of social media, most people look at fashion and what’s in the news on their phone, computer or tablet. This is how we exist now. Most people don’t go to fashion shows. It’s only elite people, or those who are lucky enough to go to fashion shows,” said Bouwer. “The way that [most] people absorb this information and images through a visual process that is film today. I’ve always felt that way about social media and film.”
Bouwer said that film also allows you to be more creative, “creating incredible worlds and moods and being able to stop and start doing them right..”
Guests included Gillian Miniter and her husband Sylvester, nightlife performer Kevin Aviance (whose music Beyoncé sampled on her new album “Renaissance”), George Wayne, actor Garrett Swann, Camilla Olsson, Emma Snowdon Jones and Andrew Werner.
Kevin Aviance
Photo by David Zimmerman/Courtesy
With the fashion collection complete, Bouwer is already on to other things. He expects to show his next collection as part of a group show being planned for a downtown location just before New York Fashion Week officially begins.
