YDE SS16 Show :: Paris Fashion Week

**Official runway photos courtesy of YDE. Runway exclusives & backstage photos by MITH photographer Anne Laymond

*Words by Holly Glasser

Ole Yde loves adding details to simple pieces and making them into more feminine and “birdlike” constructions. Indeed, he can turn a very basic dress or skirt into something exquisite with exciting pockets, collars and belts or by adding accents of ruffles or bows. Yet, he doesn’t stick to one theme, as a few of his dresses are more geometrical and boxy, while others are more elegant and graceful with billowy sleeves and long flowy skirts. He has a lot of fun adding plumes of fringe ruffles to the shoulders or at the base of a leather dress to make any piece more exotic and poetic.

Ole also likes to pull many of the items together in his line by adding the same flowered circular pattern on various pieces at the shoulder or waste line, creating a very signature look. Many of his designs reflect an aviary quality with the colors he uses, which you might expect to see in a bird of paradise-colors such as orange, yellow and deep blue. He contrasts these colors in other pieces with a very urban palette of grays, black, gold, white and browns. He uses a lot of leather in his dresses and jackets, which again shows a city street style. Yet, his leather items fall into symmetrical harmony with the more feminine pieces with his use of details, which tie everything together poetically. Perhaps you can imagine a bird of paradise lost in the concrete jungle.

My favorite piece in this collection was a midnight blue dress above the knee and another black leather dress above the knee. Both had fringe ruffles at the base. I loved these items because you could see Ole’s expertise in mixing urban designs with feminine, feather-like qualities, creating a piece that is edgy, fierce and delicate all at once. The most exquisite piece of this collection was an African-patterned skirt with a white top shaped like a birdcage and fluffed outwards with regal elegance. Olde again mixes feathery bird-like exoticism with the harsh reality and mundane rythmn of the concrete jungle. This eye-catching dichotomy in his designs leaves the viewer intrigued and delighted.