Henri Levy offers romantic but ’also aggressive’ designs for new fall-winter collection

(3 Mar 2023) ASSOCIATED PRESS Paris, 3 March 2023 1. Exterior, Le China, club and restaurant 2. Various, people waiting outside. 3. Various, designer Henri Levy with model 4. SOUNDBITE (English) Henri Levy, designer: “I would say it’s romantic but it’s also aggressive. It’s also - it’s emotional but it’s darker, it’s faster. I think this space is more kind of underground and consolidated as far as the theme is concerned. A lot of times in Paris you have these really big Parisian venues, you have to lean into a certain openness. I think with this one I wanted to really lean into a controlled chaos.” 5. Cutaway Henri Levy backstage 6. SOUNDBITE (English) HenrI Levy: “And I was kind of really interested in this, like, Year of the Dragon ‘80s Chinese aesthetic, I guess mixed with some kind of, like, German dark wave tones. So I wanted the mahjong players, like, smoking - just to create a different kind of ambiance.” 7. Cutaway Henri Levy 8. SOUNDBITE (English) Designer HenrI Levy: “I feel like I’m like painting - I’m making a collage, like I’m adding some things, I’m subtracting some things, this symbol, or whatever means something in the context of the characters I’m creating. So I’m interested in the looks, but for me each model is a character.” 9. Various, mahjong players 10. Various, fashion show 11. Various, show finale 12. Various, Henri Levy takes a bow STORYLINE: Enfants Riches Déprimés—or Rich Depressed Kids—is Los Angeles designer Henri Levy’s independent label, dedicated to youth with as much angst and attitude as money. Levy showed his fall-winter unisex collection Friday (03MARCH2023) evening at Le China, a club in eastern Paris. The designer set out to create a cast of characters with his creations—and in this case, even included them as part of the decor, with two tables of mahjong players straight out of central casting sitting in the dark, smoky, 1920s-era Shanghai ambiance of the club. The characters in this season’s collection were, as he said, romantic but “also aggressive,” a mishmash of German dark wave, 1980s Mickey Rourke, militarism, S&M—and luxury. It was heavy on fur and leather, chains and corsets, clinched waists and short skirts. Black was a predominant color, but red was also key. Always embracing the surprising and subversive, Levy sent out one model wearing skis on his back, another carrying a machine gun, and one wrapped in cords that pinned her arms to her body. “I wanted to really lean into a controlled chaos,” he said. =========================================================== Clients are reminded to adhere to all listed restrictions and to check the terms of their licence agreements. For further assistance, please contact the AP Archive on: Tel 44(0)2074827482 Email: info@. Find out more about AP Archive: Twitter: Facebook: ​​ Instagram: You can license this story through AP Archive: