The Spring/Summer 2016 womenswear collection by Santoni as interpreted by Olivier Zahm
Elegant block heel sandals. Bold platforms and sensuous ankle straps. Metallic flashes, masculine details, crystal appliqués. Say hello to the exquisite Spring/Summer 2016 womenswear collection by Santoni. For next season, the renowned Italian brand reinterpreted a 1970s mood poised between uptown elegance and downtown non-conformism. Just think of Paloma Picasso and her circle of super glamorous friends in the course of a busy day, ending either at Studio 54 or Max’s Kansas City, in New York in the Seventies. Then think of style and glamour as an expression of independence and as liberating act and you will have a fair accurate description of a truly contemporary collection, thought and designed for assertive independent women who, day by day, write their own histories. Preciously refined materials, like python, crocodile, satin, brushed calfskin, together with a rich palette of natural shades of cream and tan, pastel tones, rich burgundy, intense brown, iridescent green, reflect the tension between feminine and masculine elements and between streamlined and eccentric features. Metallic flashes lighten up lace-ups, colourful python skins brighten up sexy sandals, classic double buckles customise bicolour slippers, fine embroideries embellish satin heels, bold platforms elongate the silhouette.
The collection was beautifully interpreted in a series of Super 8 short films by Olivier Zahm, founder and owner of the ground-breaking Purple magazine, publishing house, art direction and consultancy agency as well as acclaimed photographer, filmmaker, art curator. The visionary Zahm, whose work is often focused on a high conceptual interpretation of eroticism, played with the lo-tech qualities of non-digital images in order to portray the Santoni women within settings of undiluted alternative glamour.
