Véronique Leroy autumn—winter 1998—99. Véronique Leroy, who works in Paris
Véronique Leroy autumn—winter 1998—99. Véronique Leroy, who works in Paris, won the Gouden Spoel (Golden Spindle) competition in 1989. She was the first and only non-graduate of the Antwerp Fashion Academy (she studied at Studio Berçot in Paris) to win this prestigious award. After her studies she worked for a while as an assistant to Azzedine Alaïa and Martine Sitbon. In 1991 she presented her first collection. Véronique Leroy has developed her own signature, with seemingly relaxed radicalness and an aversion to trends and avant-garde. Her designs are just incredibly feminine and sexy. She stands for radical, ‘unguarded’ elegance, and she always went, already in times when fashion was still dictated by minimalism, for an uncompromising ‘sensuel de l’éclat’ (the sensuality of brilliancy). She converts anything which ‘better’ taste labels vulgar into ‘sublimely vulgar’. She replaces ‘noble’ materials with common ones, which she elevates in her creations by treating them just as respectfully. She uses materials like lurex, vinyl, polyester and fake fur, or synthetic leather-imitations, superimposing prints that feature from predators to marsupials. And goes on to add bright colours, such as pink, apple green and gold. The finish? As perfect as perfect can be. To quote the last paragraph of a poem that Stéphanie Cohen wrote about her: Her soul is not black, her skin not white./She is full of colours, way off trends/Her life is not clear, her fashion not a rose,/her tongue is rather clear, for the one that can hear. -- source link