Paolo Carzana
AW23 Catwalk
Words By: Molly Boniface
Paolo Carzana is a Welsh designer and resident of Alexander McQueen’s Sarabande Foundation. His Autumn/Winter collection was dedicated to queer lives lost before their time. Matilde Cerruti Quara wrote a poem, ‘I want to be hope for you’, the poem draws upon Carzana’s own experience of growing up queer in his working-class home and attending a religious school in Cardiff. Dazed draws comparisons between the emerging designer and the likes of Alexander McQueen and John Galliano, they are all wildly talented ‘working class designers who made it their business to prove that ‘finance isn’t the be all and end all’. A copy of the ‘I want to be hope for you’, occupied every seat in the British Fashion Council’s New Gen Space for attendees to read and contemplate upon arrival.
Carzana’s collection was truly beautiful. Most garments were hand-dyed using natural substances such as wild plants, food waste and spices. Gossamer fabrics were layered, knotted and embroidered upon to create a whimsical fairylike collection. The raw colour palette of greens, salmon, oranges and ochre made for an earthy, delicate and grounded collection, creating a physical rendering of this stanza in Matilde’s poem:
“‘I want to be hope for you we are dancing in the flames burning rose petals and mugwortcleansing our spirits from the tongues of disgrace evanescent, immortal of combustion”
Carzana’s collection is my favourite rendition of the dishevelled, threadbare aesthetic that dominated the runway this season. Every cut looked intentional and considered, creating interesting angles within the gentle silhouettes. The collection took inspiration from the aesthetics of history, manifesting the ‘queer renaissance’ Matilde’s poem imagines. Nip-waist suits made from tapestried fabrics preceded the final looks which showed models overshadowed by organza ‘guardian angels’ fastened to their backs, seemingly floating above them, helping hands raised. The finale showed two models walk the runway holding hands, one guiding the other as the rest of the entourage followed. The show was a beautiful and sensitive demonstration of love and vulnerability.
Words By: Molly Boniface
Poem By: Matilde Cerruti Quara