Another emerging brand we discovered throughout our trip through the showrooms of Paris was Kazakh designer Aika Alemi, who was showing her fifth collection for Autumn Winter 2016 at Cube Showroom.
As this was one of our first stops of the week, Aika Alemi gave us a taste of one of the major trends we'd see throughout, transformation and utility. Nearly all of the pieces were constructed so that they could be worn more than one way, giving the wearer multiple style options without the need to over consume. For example, many of the jackets are made with luxurious silk on one side with hand-stitched quilting while the other side uses the same techniques but in a soft cotton sweatshirt material, meaning the same garment can have either a smart or more casual look. A lot of the edges were left open in order to obtain the reversible look of the garments.
In fact, many of the techniques which make this collection special were all done by hand, giving a not to the traditions of Eastern Europe while creating something for this generation. The knitwear was knitted by hand, the quilting details were done by hand, they even used a technique where they coasted felt onto silk to create some amazing patterns in a very unique way.
The collection was also completely comprised of natural fabrics, such as Georgette silks, cotton, cashmere, wool, velvet and lace. We love how Aika Alemi, along with so many of the next generation of fashion designers, are taking more care for and consideration of the impact this industry has on the environment.
