At any event at Fashion Week there is always a wait. A wait for cabs, a wait for the bar, a wait for the show. While we were waiting for Noir’s show to begin, which was of course fashionably late, I had a sense there was going to be something significant about the showing. I sensed it from the crowd, the largest I had seen thus far at any show. Senior stylists, writers and buyers - they were more sophisticated, the intellectual fashion type, and included a few local celebs. And there to tease us, in the middle of the room with an anxious crowd questioning intent, was a rack of garments surrounded by gallery chairs and pouffes.
My first thought was an installation piece that challenged the idea of fashion as art but Noir surprised by exhibiting a live salon experience, where models, in various states of undress, presented the collection by literally dressing up. And dressing each other. It was slightly erotic and mesmerising, watching the garments come to life. The collection itself was a combustion of ideas and references, from victorian gothic to 50s rock, fetish mixed with romance. There was volume, print and layering mixed with leather, lace and silk. Naturally only offered in black.
What is interesting and thus appealing about the clothes is that Noir is fashion label with a conscience. There has been a massive cultural shift in thinking by fashion consumers in the last decade, one that centres around the issue of ethical and environmental clothing. It’s one thing to think big, but it’s another to act big. And Noir is aimed at both the fashion and social conscience shopper by creating clothes that support sustainable business practices in Third World Countries. It has led to the creation of Illuminati II - a cotton that is certified as both organic and fair-trade. It’s political activism under a veil of sophistication and sex appeal.
