Collection FW2015: Cheval Fusion

Metal in fusion. Mercury, perhaps? The substance is sleek, glossy, somehow alive… and supremely seductive.  Impossible not to think of another carré – Vif argent, created a few seasons ago by the same designer, Dimitri Rybaltchenko – at the sight of this design.  Mercury is unique: a metal in a naturally liquid state, sensitive to the slightest pressure, so that it scatters in a multitude of fluid, free-flowing baubles.

Cheval fusion: the protean liquid suggests an array of potential forms.  Bits, buckles and stirrups coalesce, and a proud steed is born.  The magic of metamorphosis!  Could this be the lair of Hephaestus, the Greek god of the forge and volcanoes, inventor of magical objects?  Could this outburst of metal hold a clue to the secret art of alchemy?  Remember – Mercury is also a planet, named for a Roman god, whose Greek ancestor bore the name… Hermes.

Collection SS2007: Vif Argent

An interesting design by Dimitri Rybaltchenko, "Vif Argent" ("Quicksilver") depicts drops of mercury that form, by way of continuous lines, the famous Hermes brand. It is a stirring design, beautiful in its simplicity, but one that does not have a particular impact when knotted traditionally around the neck - unless a good part of the middle design is displayed, as in a headscarf fashion, or perhaps in a knot where a good quarter of the scarf is displayed in front.