While shooting his summer collection in Zanzibar, Christian Wijnants fell in love with its capital, Stone Town. “The city really inspired me — the colors, the atmosphere. You have a lot of African influences, of course, but it also was a passage to India and a lot of other places,” said the Belgian designer. That became the inspiration for his pre-fall collection, and it seeped into this fall offering, too.
For it, Wijnants collaborated with Magali Cazo, whose ethereal, colorful abstract art was printed on organza crafted into wafting dresses and integrated into intarsia sweaters.
“This season it was also really important to have daywear and eveningwear mixed together,” explained Wijnants. The result was a sophisticated lineup, with pieces largely in earthy tones that can be matched and layered seamlessly.
A gray knitted sweater with long collar under a chocolate alpaca coat had a Seventies vibe. There was versatility to the black nylon bomber with cinched waist paired with a long black paillette skirt.
Knitwear came in natural fibers, such as yarns of silk charmeuse, linen and suri alpaca, and integrated draping. A fake fur coat was made from silk, while Wijnants gave some materials, such as denim, a washed effect.
He crafted garments with textured fabrics, like the linen-viscose blend that’s quilted. An olive-green spaghetti-strapped top in cut silk squares had a matching green skirt, together giving an almost reptilian impression, one of many winks to Wijnant’s affinity to nature.
