PARIS: Here is something tricky to accomplish in a shoe: reminding anyone who sees it that overconsumption and waste are warming the planet and destroying the Earth's natural resources - melting the ice caps, polluting the oceans and so forth. While also making the wearer look really cool.
If any brand can pull that off, it's Botter, a young Parisian label that uses the taglines "aquatic world" and "Caribbean couture" to describe a sunny design sensibility mashed together from Dutch coolness and island realness. According to the brand, one of its designers, Rushemy Botter, was born on Curaçao and later lived in a fishing village outside Amsterdam; the other, Lisi Herrebrugh, has shuttled between the Netherlands and the Dominican Republic, where she has family.
Their names may also sound familiar as finalists for the 2018 LVMH Prize for Young Fashion Designers and as artistic directors at Nina Ricci for three years, until this past January. Earlier this year, they also won the Andam Fashion Award; Harry Styles wore one of their argyle polo shirts knitted from recycled plastic hair-beads on a cover of Rolling Stone.
So they've got momentum. It's no surprise that this season, for a show devoted to the concept of bringing water to the runway - including on some models who wore large condoms filled with liquid around their wrists, forming a kind of extraordinary bouncy blob glove - they debuted a shoe with strong internet-meltdown potential as part of a continuing collaboration with Adidas.
The soccer sneakers (in the Predator Edge. 1 style) - developed with Dutch footwear designers Studio Hagel - have a puddle of resin molded around the soles. They came in black or neon orange (technically "solar red," to Adidas), though the traffic-cone-color version was far more eye-catching.
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The models who wore them looked, from afar, like they were wearing flippers. Up close, they more closely resembled melting ice cubes. Botter wanted the shoes to "feel like they're floating in tranquil water moving gracefully," according to its show notes.
But paired with other pieces, like a frozen block of discarded plastic bags made into a handbag, that tranquility shifted more into existential dread.
Still, accessories with a conscience that look more interesting than Toms slip-ons: That's a good thing.
Inside Louis Vuitton's 'Monster' Flower
It was a monster, enormous and ominous. It was a flower, striking and alluring. It was both, and that was the point.
"We talked about the idea of a weird monster show," traveling from town to town as part of a circus, artist Philippe Parreno said while discussing the origins of the giant structure at the heart of the set for Louis Vuitton's spring 2023 show. "You want to be deceived, in a way. You are attracted by it and you are seduced by it. And yet you know that it's fake."
The flower-shaped installation was made up of dozens of blood-red panels, which rose from a courtyard of the Louvre: 28 meters high (more than 90 feet) at its highest point and made from about 3,900 square meters of ripstop nylon.
Parreno created the set, assisted by Hollywood production designer James Chinlund, in collaboration with Nicolas Ghesquière, creative director of womenswear at Vuitton - whose main directive to the artist was "beautiful but dangerous."
What they made was indeed reminiscent of a carnival or theme park: The circular platform surrounding the monster - where the audience was seated - looked like a carousel, super-illuminated by bright light bulbs and rotating chandeliers. The thick red curtains that initially concealed the monster flower were like those at magic shows. And when the curtains were pulled back, a few swinging fun house-style mirrors faced the audience on pedestals, in front of the monster. (The idea was that the flower, sentient and scary, controlled the mirrors.)
But the team also thought about classic horror cinema, like 'King Kong' movies.
"When they captured King Kong and took him on tour, they put him onstage and he was chained up," Chinlund said. "We thought about taking this flower and scaling it up to the point that it was sort of terrifying - with all these towers around it, and the cables kind of restraining it."
Ghesquière said he had never worked like this before: planning a set while designing a collection at the same time. The fun-house-mirror effect was the clearest link between the two, with certain elements of Ghesquière's designs (like zippers, buckles, clutch bags) that were revealed at the show on Tuesday, blown up to supersize proportions, like "a game of scale," he said.
Planning began in June, with on-site construction starting in late August - a staggering timeline considering that all of this was for a 14-minute show held in early October. After the show, deconstruction was to begin almost immediately - kind of like a traveling circus, Chinlund said, "gone in the night." (Louis Vuitton later noted that about 93% of materials used in its events, including fashion shows, were either reused or recycled.)
Yet there was something about the impermanence of a sideshow that Ghesquière appreciated.
"I've always liked the nomadic life," he said. Fashion week is, after all, like a "caravan," with the same people traveling to the same four cities for the same shows every year, twice a year. For the last few seasons, Louis Vuitton has been the final major show of the circuit.
"Sometimes people don't realize the fashion show is such a live event. You have one chance and you have to get it right," Ghesquière said. "But this is the definition of fashion. It's this moment and not another moment."
Can a Corsage Transcend Prom?
The corsage was the icing on the cake - if the cake were a boulder-size silk taffeta opera coat, decorated with varsity letters on the back and explosive ruffles in the front, all done up in pretty pastels. This look was repeated about 20 times in the first part of Thom Browne's show on Monday afternoon in Paris.
What could possibly make a look with that much going on - it included a netted face mask, polka-dot socks, saddle shoes and a little leather bag - complete?
For Browne, the answer was obvious: a plastic wrist corsage. They have been a staple of homecoming and prom dances from the 1950s to ... well, now, even if they aren't as popular today as in the past.
Perhaps Thom Browne can help change that. In the last few years, opera gloves have returned to the runways in a major way, as an elegant accessory sometimes worn ironically and sometimes not. One could imagine the same thing happening with corsages: a burst of candy-colored flowers, either topping an already sweet outfit or making a darker, harder ensemble a little more sweet.
Toward the end of the show, two models synchronized their walks to "You're the One That I Want," Sandy and Danny's final number from "Grease." A joyful reminder (from peak corsage era) that opposites attract.
A Shiny and Shapeless Bucket Hat, for the Bucket Hat Skeptic
Bucket hats returned to street style and the runways a few years ago - part of the Y2K resurgence that has also resurrected low-rise jeans, butterfly clips and bedazzled everything. Since then, the runways have seen countless iterations: Tod's (padded with luxurious leather) in Milan and Marc Jacobs (thick and fuzzy and with blown-up proportions) in New York come to mind.
But there was something irresistible in the soft, gauzy, embellished version that Bruno Sialelli, the designer of Lanvin, sent down the runway in Paris. Maybe because these were looser than the typical bucket hat. They weren't fitted with a flat top and flared brim. Instead, the hats gently flitted on the head, in white mesh, like a feather-light veil.
The veils were then embroidered with little clusters of crystals: shiny and prickly and elegant.
In its show notes, Lanvin said "a sense of hand is palpable throughout" the collection, and that was true here. Only a hand could have found the right balance between mesh white space and blingy blobs. Lanvin also said it was inspired by the 1920s and 1930s for this collection, which was reflected in the floppy (as in flappers), close-to-the-head shape of the shapeless hat.
"Simple pleasures, pure joys," the show notes read. Indeed.
FAQs
What is the push you feel in the water while standing or floating? ›
Floating and buoyancy
Things float because when we place them in water, the pressure of the water underneath them pushes up and supports them; in other words, water pressure pushing upward balances weight (the force of gravity) pulling downward.
- Plastic bottle.
- Piece of paper.
- Piece of sponge.
- Piece of thermocol.
- Wood.
- Bamboo.
- Plastic ball.
- Cork.
Take a deep breath. And then tilt your head back and lift your feet off the ground.
Which objects can float in water? ›- Piece of paper.
- Wood.
- Balloon.
- Plastic bottle.
- Ice.
- Boat.
Water Treading: How to Stay Afloat in Deep Water While Swimming
Why do I feel like I'm on waves? ›With mal de debarquement syndrome, though, you can't shake the feeling that you're still on the boat. That's French for “sickness of disembarkment.” You feel like you're rocking or swaying even though you're not. It can happen to anyone, but it's much more common in women ages 30 to 60.
What are examples of floating? ›The materials or substances that can not be dissolved in water after prolonged stirring and floats on the water surface are known as floating materials. The materials which are lighter than water are capable of floating on the water's surface. Example: Wood, ice, dry leaves, kerosene oil, and plastic.
Does rubber float or sink in water? ›A characteristic property of rubber is that it sinks.
Why do people float? ›A human submerged in water weighs less (and is less 'dense') than the water itself, because the lungs are full of air like a balloon, and like a balloon, the air in lungs lifts you to the surface naturally. If an object or person has a greater density than water, then it will sink.
What material floats best in water? ›You can do better than trapped air -- helium! It is be so buoyant that even without the water below a balloon filled with it will float away, due to the fact that the buoyant force of the displaced air is greater than the graviational weight of the helium plus the balloon.
What heavy objects float? ›
Density & Floating: Why Some Objects Float While Others Sink - YouTube
What items can you gently float on water surface example? ›Leaves, wooden logs, paper, large ships, a hollow rock, fiberglass, plastic balls, styrofoam, oranges and lemons, bubble wrap, sponges, and oil will all experience floating when placed on water; while a pin, coins, and marbles would immediately sink - suggested by their dense molecular composition.
Can you sleep floating in water? ›So the short answer is yes – you can fall asleep in a float tank, although you may be mistaking nodding off for reaching a deep, meditative state! Still, it's common to have questions. Especially if you're new to floating. We're sometimes asked if sleeping through a session is a waste of your float.
How do you relax and float in water? ›- Stand or crouch in pool with shoulders at the surface of the water.
- Inhale deeply.
- Tuck chin to chest.
- Put face in the water.
- Consciously relax.
- Their hips should start floating up to the surface, with their legs dangling.
How Do You FLOAT in Air? - YouTube
Can't sleep should I just stay up all night? ›If you can't sleep, don't try to, says Michael Perlis, PhD, director of the behavioral sleep medicine program at the University of Pennsylvania. “The problem with staying in bed for any appreciable amount of time is that this reinforces sleeplessness, physiologically and psychologically,” Perlis says.
Why do I love the water so much? ›We're naturally drawn to aquatic hues and people associate this color with qualities like calm, openness, depth and wisdom. "We are beginning to learn that our brains are hardwired to react positively to water and that being near it can calm and connect us, increase innovation and insight, and even heal what's broken.
What does water feel like? ›Water can be soft like air and floating in it can sometimes feel like flying. But it can be soft and hard at the same time. When you dive off the five-meter platform and hit the water, it can actually hurt like you hit the ground. On top of this, water has a force that cannot be compared to anything else.
Why do I feel my brain moving? ›The effects of chronic stress, which we call hyperstimulation. Hyperstimulation can cause body-wide tremors and trembling symptoms, including causing the brain to feel like its vibrating. Brain zaps, brain shivers, head shocks, and head zaps feeling can have three main causes: Side effects of medication.
What does an object need to float? ›a true floating object must be wholly above the surface of the liquid. all objects that float must contain some trapped air and that is the only reason why they float. the amount of liquid on which the object floats matters somehow, i.e. an object will float higher in a larger volume or deeper liquid.
Why does an object float in water? ›
An object floats when it displaces a volume of water that has a mass equal to the mass of the object. So if a material like steel is shaped into a boat and made larger and larger, it will displace more and more water.
What makes some materials float on water? ›Objects with tightly packed molecules are more dense than those where the molecules are spread out. Density plays a part in why some things float and some sink. Objects that are more dense than water sink and those less dense float. Hollow things often float too as air is less dense than water.
Do tires float or sink? ›Archimedes Principle gives us a lot of information about what will float and what will sink. Using this principle, we know that car tires will float and that a car will stay afloat for a short period of time.
What happens when you put rubber in water? ›If an object's density is greater than water, it will sink. Conversely, if an object's density is less than water, it will float. In the case of rubber, it floats because its density is far less than that of water.
Does Soap float on water? ›Soap is more dense than water, so it will sink in water. Soap case which is made of plastic is less dense than water.
Can people float in air? ›Not much. By Archimedes principle the buoyant force is equal to the weight of the volume of fluid displaced, which would be the volume of your body. And the fluid is air. So you would only be slightly heavier than you are now if there was a vacuum at the earth's surface.
Do all people float? ›With very few exceptions, everyone floats, however most people think they are that exception when in reality 99,9% are not. It is the degree of flotation and how easy it is to float that is influenced by your body's make-up. People usually float to varying degrees and in varying ways.
How do I stop my legs from sinking? ›How To Stop Your Legs From Sinking In Freestyle - YouTube
How do you stand in water when swimming? ›First of all, the horizontal position. Get into the pool at a spot where your feet can touch the bottom. Put your face into the water, face-down. Spread your arms out to the sides to keep yourself stable and raise your legs, allowing the water to support you.
How can we feel water? ›Water can be soft like air and floating in it can sometimes feel like flying. But it can be soft and hard at the same time. When you dive off the five-meter platform and hit the water, it can actually hurt like you hit the ground. On top of this, water has a force that cannot be compared to anything else.
Why do I feel like I'm still in water after swimming? ›
After swimming for a few hours, why does our body still feel the waves or water despite you're done swimming? Your inner ear adapts to the waves so that you can maintain your balance when you are swimming. When the waves stop it takes a bit for your inner ear to adjust back to normal.
Why do we float in water gravity? ›Any object that is in water has some buoyant force pushing up against gravity, which means that any object in water loses some weight. If the object displaces an amount of water equal to its own weight, the buoyant force acting on it will be equal to gravity—and the object will float.
How do I keep my legs up while swimming? ›How To Stop Your Legs Sinking Whilst Swimming - YouTube
How can I stay in water without sinking? ›How to Achieve Natural Buoyancy - YouTube
How do I keep my head above water while swimming? ›The easiest way to swim with your head out of the water is to swim Breaststroke. The body position for breaststroke allows your legs to be deep in the water and your head, mouth and nose out of the water, and the stroke to still be effective. You will need a strong leg kick to keep you up and keep you moving.
Why do I love the water so much? ›We're naturally drawn to aquatic hues and people associate this color with qualities like calm, openness, depth and wisdom. "We are beginning to learn that our brains are hardwired to react positively to water and that being near it can calm and connect us, increase innovation and insight, and even heal what's broken.
What does water taste like? ›Can we drink pure water? Yes,but pure water has no color, taste, or smell because there are no minerals or trace elements.
Why do I feel better in water? ›“This deep biological connection has been shown to trigger an immediate response in our brains when we're near water. In fact, the mere sight and sound of water can induce a flood of neurochemicals that promote wellness, increase blood flow to the brain and heart and induce relaxation.
Why is being in water relaxing? ›This is because water triggers the parasympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for the body's 'rest and digest' response. In this state, your heart rate and blood pressure lowers, your digestion is stimulated and your body is able to relax.
Why does the ocean make you happy? ›Brain imaging research has shown that proximity to water is strongly linked to your brain releasing feel-good hormones, including dopamine and oxytocin.
Why can't I sleep after swimming? ›
Dehydration and body temperature.
If you can't sleep after exercise, the most common cause is likely to be dehydration, which makes it difficult to lower your body temperature and also raises your heart rate – ultimately resulting in less sleep.
With very few exceptions, everyone floats, however most people think they are that exception when in reality 99,9% are not. It is the degree of flotation and how easy it is to float that is influenced by your body's make-up. People usually float to varying degrees and in varying ways.
Why do humans float? ›Here's why: The density of the human body is similar to the density of water, and what keeps us floating--other than the dog paddle--is the air in our lungs. A corpse begins to sink as the air in its lungs is replaced by water.
Can humans float air? ›Not much. By Archimedes principle the buoyant force is equal to the weight of the volume of fluid displaced, which would be the volume of your body. And the fluid is air. So you would only be slightly heavier than you are now if there was a vacuum at the earth's surface.