Paris Autumn/Winter '08

Hussein Chalayan
There is always a sense of anticipation at a Hussein Chalayan presentation, as we have come to expect nothing less than awe from his mechanical dresses. The showstoppers this season were a pair called Big Bang, with lights and Swarovski crystals orbiting round the body on wires. Ever the philosopher Chayalan spoke of how it's 'more and more important to challenge the meaning of clothes' and by amplifying the body with circular cut cloth 'the body becomes a micro geography'. So draped jersey dresses had what looked like baby apes clasping at the chests of the models, to speak of human evolution. Specially developed rough-cut unpolished Swarovski crystals were draped round necks, combined with wooden monkeys and applied to photographic prints of rocks.

Chalayan has just had a big bang of his own, or a new beginning at least for him and his business. After the show Puma announced that it has appointed the London based designer as its Creative Director with immediate effect, responsible for designing, creating and developing the sport fashion collections of the brand. In addition they have taken a majority stake in his own brand. This design led move is additionally interesting as Puma's new parent company is PPR, which also owns Gucci Group.

Images: Catwalking.com