Since the Fall Winter 2014 Ready-to-wear shows in Paris, the reviews have been all over the place, and I’ve seen snippets here and there but never got a chance to review the full shows until now. Kudos to those whose altars I continue to worship at such as Kenzo, Junya Watanabe, Yohji Yamamoto, Haider Ackermann, Balenciaga and Rick Owens for slaying as always. For me, this year’s scene stealer was Masha Ma. I was not familiar with her before now which perhaps adds to my excitement with her being all shiny and new. Well, that and an intriguing concept of night blooming flowers, hence the embroidered floral face coverings.
Just based on this collection, I think she is a textual genius. First of all, I LOVE tone on tone and I find it exciting when there is a challenging variety of textures of a similar shade mixed together in one ensemble. She made it look so easy and sleek. Secondly, I like how she played around with cables in her knitwear – inverting and outlining them and then creating these austere, strong shapes such as her wrap skirt and the peplum jacket. Thirdly, her lace is modern, commanding and sexy.
Even when she does these deconstructed free-form pieces, you can see and appreciate the method to the madness. A beautiful shape and a high level of elegance is not sacrificed.
Digging around in her previous work, it is obvious that Ma takes her textiles very seriously and feels the need to push it with every collection. Just my type of designer.
Masha Ma, F/W 2014, RTW, Paris
Masha Ma, F/W 2014, RTW, Paris
Masha Ma, F/W 2014, RTW, Paris
Masha Ma, F/W 2014, RTW, Paris
Masha Ma, F/W 2014, RTW, Paris