Discovery: Couture by Bouchra Jarrar

BOUCHRA JARRAR, LOOK 2

In an era where more is merrier, Bouchra Jarrar’s sinuous geometries aren’t limited to couture—although that’s the territory she’s claimed with her eponymous house after stints with Balenciaga, among other brands. These are just great clothes, and although the craftsmanship of couture gives them a gleaming finish, they are very much part of the real world and geared for  contemporary women.  Jarrar’s white piping, which she has used in previous seasons, continues in this collection to edge a gray flannel jacket against black for a coat, and a dress worn with a red fox stole casually wrapped around the neck [pictured above].  What’s interesting about Jarrar’s design is  her mix of geometric lines with falling bias volumes, which gives her clothes a great play of soft and hard.   This time, she edged black satin and leather with thin strips of white fur, and made a dramatic diagonal red inset down the front of  the simplest white satin dress.  All of this—piping, and clever insets in dramatic black, white, red and gray—lends Jarrar’s clothes a feeling of abstract art.