The Bite Magazine - Spring/Summer 2021 - Issue 29

bitecatwalk A ccording to Ashi Studio, a couture house is not just the story of a designer. It’s the story of a fam- ily bound together by craftsmanship, elegance and love and a story written as a team. Initially, it’s the at- eliers and sometimes the couture’s traditions but always the clients. “The act of dressing is no simple choice. As in tales of creation in every culture: it is every morning, the world is born anew, and a new story is told.” The fashion house launched in 2007 empowers people by creating to fit around their life, rather than impose a style or dictate a taste. Instead of designing clothes or selling the dream of the megawatt star who wore their clothes on the cover of a magazine, Ashi Studio tells stories through intimate details to the wearer and the craft of couture itself. Their collectionentitled ‘MrsDalloway’poses thephrase, “Mrs Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself.” To say humanity is fascinated with flowers, nature’s very own treasures, is an understatement. But their beauty alone doesn’t explain why Mrs Dalloway would want to leave the comfort of her home to confront a world in re- covery, and her own trauma, for a few fleeting blooms, however beautiful. If we look closely, flowers are so much more. Whether it’s sending extravagant roses or reaching for a daisy on the sidewalk, flowers are vehi- cles that carry emotions. To us, so is couture. For a designer, particularly a couturier, continuing to cre- ate is offering one’s sentiment to the eyes of the world. It could be described as a bouquet of moments, a bushel of souvenirs, or a wreath of emotions. “We wanted to present a couture creation not because we are out of touch with the world but because it’s a way of not let- ting go. Not letting down the suppliers who make the exquisite materials of our métier, not letting down the teams we have gathered, not forgetting the ideals that formed us.” As we move back into the world, the collection became a gateway to life as we knew it, or more precisely, a life experienced in all its glorious bloom. Colours embody the emotions – sunny yellow, a bracing pink, vibrant orange, dove grey – that bloom behind our eyes. The silhouettes are graphic impressions bursting into opu- lent shapes that are sharp as a flash of delight or a bolt of sadness on a clear afternoon. As spring shimmers under the frozen surface of our lives, a brilliant bouquet is a promise for a life to be savoured in full technicolour. There must be an understanding of what moves you when dressing a silhouette. In the physical sense: the intricacies of construction that bend fabric to fit reality and desires. In the metaphorical sense: each couture creation is a projection of your true self and armour that must be absolute and weightless. https://www.ashistudio.com