About a month before their presentation, the sample pieces for Sebastien Ami’s collection were stolen; fortunately, the team, led by the married duo Sebastien and Marianne Amiasal, was able to recreate all 38 pieces in one month. That alone is a triumph, the fact that the collection was covetable was the organic cherry on top.
The theme for this presentation was Camping. The models were presented standing on a grassy platform surrounding a tent. The collection was inspired by vintage camping photos from Mt. Rainer taken in 1966 and William Golding’s Lord of The Flies. I was taken aback by the latter, the book is infamously bloody but the collection itself seemed wholesome and joyful. Marianne explained it’s not the bloodiness of the story, but the idea of foraging and making use of what you have. This is most evident in the accessories– which were also the clear highlight of the show– including sunglasses with croakies and crossbody bags with carabiners. The collection was produced entirely in Los Angeles and consisted of simple garments; jeans, cargo pants, sweatshirts, hoodies, t-shirts, shirts, shorts, etc., pieces that are simple and efficient, wearable and functional. The kind of clothes you actually want to wear camping. The design team elevates the clothes to fashion status by playing with proportions; the garments are pleasantly voluminous and incredibly soft. These are the kind of clothes that make you feel better.
In this version of Lord of The Flies, all the boys get along. Instead of falling into disarray, they work together to create a healthy, peaceful utopia. In Golding’s book, the boys fail to work with one another, but at Sebastien Ami, the team comes together and manages to produce a fully realized collection in less than a month.