I have a tendency to love frilly and girly clothing, but there is something about Toni Francesc that makes me fantasize about having a grown up office job and going to business dinners with clients. He always manages to evoke an element of nature in his designs while keeping them sophisticated and urban.
In his Fall/Winter 2011 show “Grauda”, Francesc combined clean sharp tailoring with beautifully flowing silk pieces to tell the story of the Phoenix, a bird that is reborn every 500 years through fire. Often used as a symbol of immortality and beauty, the phoenix is the perfect definition of the Toni Francesc woman. Vibrant hues of red, orange, and yellow popped against sturdy ash grays and blacks to create a stunning image of a bird rising out of the ashes. The fabrics danced around the models’ bodies like flames. The fiery yet feminine looks were paired with feathery eyelashes and strong red lips, radiating an inner cool, an ease of confidence and grace. I can’t help but be drawn, like a moth to a flame, to this collection
—Nari Kim
Photos by Stevyn Llewellyn and Nari Kim
