Brands that (literally) turned their backs at PFW

At the beginning of March, brands Zomer and Marie Adam-Leenaerdt presented their fourth and fifth collections, respectively. A finalist for the LVMH Prize in 2024, Marie Adam-Leenaerdt precedes Zomer, which is a semi-finalist this year. While both brands have distinctly different aesthetics, they appear to be moving at the same pace, with their approaches particularly resonating this season.

A runway show that starts with the grand finale. A backward bow. A collection literally designed in reverse. The duo behind Zomer strikes again. Founded by designer Danial Aitouganov and stylist Imruh Asha in 2023, the brand unveiled its Collection 04 in the minimalist basement of the Palais de Tokyo. For the occasion, the ceiling of the Saut du Loup hall was adorned with a parade of vintage lampshades, the first clue to a collection conceived in reverse. This season, the duo focuses on upside-down silhouettes. Shirt collars decorate the hems of coats and add white trim to pants. Trench coats button at the back, revealing the nape. Meanwhile, the slit of the skirt, originally placed at the back, moves to the front, immediately drawing attention to a leg in motion. When it comes to accessories, Zomer collaborates with Finnish sneaker brand Karhu, whose launch was revealed a few days before the show in a highly graphic campaign aptly titled “mind, body and sole”. As a playful jab at the relentless race for the it-bag led by major fashion houses, the label introduces the “no budget bag”, a bag reduced to simple handles, leaving room for the imagination of the wearer. Yet, experimentation does not exclude functionality. Behind the exuberance, Zomer ensures each piece is perfectly wearable.

At Marie Adam-Leenaerdt, the invitation to the show already contained clues: two scanned two-euro coins on paper, identical in value but subtly different in appearance. A preview of a collection in two phases. The first series of 24 looks is marked by impeccable sobriety, where raw felt and structured cuts—particularly at the waist and shoulders—demonstrate a mastery of craftsmanship. It also highlights the entire process required to construct a silhouette. A process that Marie Adam-Leenaerdt herself defines as a “framework”, an architectural base upon which she then builds a second, more detail-rich narrative. Pops of color emerge, touches of leopard print, and scattered bows. In some places, the garment appears simply turned inside out; elsewhere, it becomes unrecognizable. Like Zomer, the designer explores reversibility, transforming garment covers into standalone pieces. She even goes as far as to invert the proportions of a skirt, giving the impression that it has been flipped directly onto the body.

While Zomer plays with deconstruction and optical illusions, Marie Adam-Leenaerdt pushes architectural precision even further, immersing us in the backstage process of garment construction. Both share the same desire to invert clothing, question its function, perception, and relationship to the body. Though they have chosen to disrupt conventions by flipping jackets, skirts, and proportions, fashion itself is not turning its back on them. Quite the opposite: it is embracing them with open arms.