LFW AW17: Haluminous Presentation

HALUMINOUS  made most the most of the numinous backdrop of the Freemason’s HQ, its Grand Lodge on Queen Street by staging a presentation that was not only darkly artistic but mimicked the Dark Arts.

Haluminous is a Sydney-based brand founded by designer Hannah Kim last year and her afternoon show for LFW was rammed with visitors, agog at the site of a contemporary dancer/contortionist writhing in a circle of candles and white flowers. Stopping just short of painting a pentagram on the floor, the extravagant set design was the backdrop for a one-of-a-kind presentation that titillated the audience. A high fashion take on what, from afar, appeared to be a ritual sacrifice seemed to recreate an exorcism (without the bit where the demons are eradicated). Enveloping the room in crimson lighting that suggested a bloodbath, the red tones where echoed in the clothing, which was mostly red or black save for a few white and light pink numbers.

Models who initially stood on the stage behind the performance, wandered around the circle looking like well-dressed escapees from an intergalactic mental hospital.

Hangul Korean characters were painted on the models’ faces and bodie. In the case of the dancer in the centre, the adornment looked like blood stains as the red light reflected off of it.

One of the models sported a Star-Trek-like mask, that, on closer examination proved to be made from bejewelled paperclips. The silver chains on the mask emphasised the awkward kinetics of the model wearing it as they swayed in time with the jerky movements. Many of the models sported earrings made from embellished paperclips.

More committed to silhouettes than textures, nearly all of the looks were knee length and rather boxy. Adornment ranging from embroidery to added jewels ensured that each piece had a distinct, custom air to it. Kim employed ruffles in a way that was not common this season in other shows.

Androgyny was a central look in the collection, which was presented by a range of cultural diverse models. The gender ambiguity and ethnic variations seemed to suggest Kim’s clothing is universally appropriate and one could imagine it one the streets of Tokyo as easily as central London.

Models were styled with elaborate, pre-Raphaelite inspired waves along the hairline which gave photographs from the presentation echoes of Renaissance paintings as did the intricately detailed ceiling in the opulent room where the presentation was staged.

by Yasmin Bilbeisi