Faith Connexion (Q3092)
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Faith Connexion is a fashion house from FMD.
| Language | Label | Description | Also known as |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | Faith Connexion |
Faith Connexion is a fashion house from FMD. |
Statements
With the return of alums Alexandre Bertrand and Myriam Bensaid, Faith Connexion is turning a page. In the meantime, Maria Buccellati is amping up an “inclusive mood,” specifically through artistic collaborations. In the showroom, a vintage Faith Connexion black leather jacket was upcycled via gold and silver hand-painting with a likeness of Picasso on the back. It was set in a purpose-built cutout painted frame emblazoned with one of the iconic artist’s most celebrated quotes in gold lettering: “Good artists copy; great artists steal.”The ensemble—frame and jacket—was customized by Dust of Gods and will retail in the mid-four figures. Sitting just below it were two pairs of sneakers by the upscale Italian brand Buscemi, one in pristine white waiting to be likewise customized. The other was in the house’s trademark sparkly black tweed.Two other artists contributed hand-embellished pieces: Embroidered, frayed, safety-pin-encrusted, and jewel-studded knitwear was by the Italian designer Laneus; hand-graffitied separates were by Dionysios (“No one cares about your fake life on social media,” one T-shirt read). “Like a Virgin” met “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” in the core collection for a base that loves acting way too cool to care.
2 March 2020
Faith Connexion is setting out for new horizons. “I feel like it’s a movement,” said its founder Maria Buccellati before the show, referring to the brand’s “collective” mentality. “We’re speaking a new language.” Or at least trying a new tack. Typically, Faith Connexion is for a crowd that saunters forth in sequins from dusk till dawn. Come spring, it will have more options for daytime.“I wanted to make a shift and explore new territories with optimism, confidence, and joie de vivre,” creative director Nikola Vasari ventured backstage before the show. “To me the collection’s like an invitation to travel through time, through theAnnées Follesand the ’70s, which were both eras of freedom and innovation.”Day-to-nightclub options included boxy ecru-and-gold tweed jackets with statement buttons, sequined dresses that a superheroine fromThe Boysmight envy, and a “balloon jodhpurs” spin on the brand’s popular fatigues. There were also military trenches and camouflage in khaki and terra-cotta, offset by a shower of sunset-hued sequins on tulle, a mirror-finish technical parka, liquid mesh tank tops, and chunky belts. They weren’t innovative per se—short, tight, and sheer are Faith Connexion’s baseline, after all—but they hit all the right chords for the in crowd. The anchor-shaped chokers by the fledgling Chinese collective ACE added a little extra sparkle.On the eco-responsible front, Davide De Vivo and Matteo Paloni of the Neapolitan label Never Too Much Basic are on board to upcycle denim sourced from factories near its home base, for example, in a tailored patchwork jacket and overalls. “No one talks about it, but there’s a lot of fashion around Naples,” the duo remarked. “That gives us a lot of opportunity to help make fashion get better. It can be done.”
25 September 2019
Fittingly, the first runway Faith Connexion show under Nikola Vasari’s creative direction took place in an underground club. Come back on the right night, and you might very well find people wearing the brand’s “street couture” looks, which this season consisted mainly of lustrous minidresses, statement outerwear, and treated denim. Backstage, Vasari said he was inspired by music icons, and he name-checked the usual suspects—Grace Jones, Stevie Nicks, Lou Reed, and David Bowie. But those references represent the past, and, as Swizz Beatz (who collaborated on a capsule last year) declared in a recorded message before for the show, “Faith Connexion is the future.”For the most part, though, the combined men’s and women’s lineup landed in a glam-rock limbo: nothing new, yet well-executed. Slinky dresses in embellished mesh or embroidered in wisps of silver, tuxedos in puckered bronzed brocade, and myriad pieces with rips and holes that had been filled in and outlined with sequins and chains attested to the brand’s luxe positioning. Leather looks offered some noticeable novelty: finely fringed on a jacket, or skirts with tearaway flounces. Elsewhere, there were echoes of ’80s Paris through tiers of printed chiffon trimmed in feathers, while graphics on the guys’ clothes suggested a very faint undertone of Asian influence (Vasari said his travels inevitably seep into the design). As usual, the lineup resulted from several specialty collaborations, including NTMB (Never Too Much Basic) and Pisco Logik, plus newcomers Rockins, Schott, and Kaimin.There was little to bridge all the going-out/onstage attire and the tailored coats and tricked-out jackets. But what seemed like an absence of daywear might actually be relative. The show proved an opportunity to scope out the Faith Connexion crowd; it took place at 1:00 p.m., yet many had dressed for midnight.
26 February 2019
Not long before the Spring 2019 collections began, Faith Connexion announced a new creative director. Up until now, the Paris label has operated as a mostly anonymous collective. In a town full of super-famous design leads, FC made a point of not having one. Yesterday Nikola Vasari, a Faith Connexion veteran, stepped out from behind the curtain. Going forward, the company wants “to speak with one voice.”So what’s different with the new configuration? Not overly much so far. Faith Connexion is the street couture line it’s been since the beginning, and fans of its paint-splattered shirts and holey jeans will find updates to those categories for Spring. If Vasari’s promotion has changed anything, it seems to be the collection’s new emphasis on couture-ish elements, as evidenced by jackets with a harlequin fil coupe pattern worn by both women and men, and military-precise tailoring with buttons that allow the wearer to adjust the look.Officially, India was the starting point for this collection, but aside from the jewelry the male and female models are decorated with in the lookbook, this was a fairly subtle interpretation. The vaguely sari-like embroidered peach dress was pretty. Vasari spoke about a potential runway show next season. We’ll get a better picture of his influence and point of view then.
28 September 2018
In describing Faith Connexion’s Spring collection—mainly men’s, with some women’s, and a lot of unisexuality—the company’s president, Maria Buccellati, oft used the phrase “very fresh.” There was a certain affability at play this season. Faith Connexion’s ever-present challenge is its multilayered complex, from its myriad designers to its subsequent output, and by lightening the vibe ever so slightly in terms of palette, swish, and general easiness, Buccellati and company found rhythm in their understandably hard-to-coordinate steps.She mentioned “using the Faith Connexion logo a lot,” as well. This looked enticing when spelled out on the waistbands of underwear—Buccellati said they’ve been considering an undergarment line, which would make sense to try. Why not? They have everything else covered to the nth degree, which, for Spring, included A+ versatile lingerie dresses that could be de-sleeved for sexiness and re-sleeved for more formal evening affairs; souvenir sweatshirts spelling out “California” and “Florida” around the collar; customized denim jackets with a painted Statue of Liberty on the back; star sequins and metal appliqués worked onto jumpers and jackets and jewelry; and a collaboration with Marvel on a hoodie and a knotted at the front, trailing jersey dress. It’s almost balletic, in terms of choreography, to get it right when there are so many people and so many facets involved in making a cohesive collection. Consider Faith Connexion’s Spring, then, as something of a fantastically and eccentrically dirty dance, well-synced. We’re here for it.
22 June 2018
According to the enthusiastically voluble design team member present—who cannot be named, as is the credo of Faith Connexion—this collection was put together in under a month. That short schedule prompted team Faith Connexion into some impressive creative acrobatics plus plenty of improvisation. He implied that a grafted three-part topcoat in a tricolor of Harris Tweed, bouclé, and cashmere had been fashioned from fabrics by hand in their Sixth Arrondissement deconsecrated church workspace.The house’s compulsion for mixology was in full flow via a red check wool outdoorsman’s coat layered with an ostentatiously street-regal paneling of scarlet faux fur worn over a 19th-century-style hussar’s jerkin and tight torn denim. Research into vintage Swiss Army uniforms from the mid-1980s that had caught the Faith Connexion eye led to some excellent patched combat pants heaped with aesthetically adjustable straps, and a series of parkas and liner jackets that ranged from one produced by a bona fide military contractor in Belgium to Faith Connexion versions heaped with paillette. A trenchcoat with belt-like straps running down its arms and a check captain’s armband was very cool. Collaborators this season included the returning Neapolitan denim crew Never Too Much Basic (NTMB) and two new transient members of the Faith Connexion collective, a Greek artist named Dionysus (real name) and a 90-year-old American mouse named Mickey. Faith Connexion struck a deal with Disney to produce a capsule of maison Mickey Mouse sweats that bore a bleach-washed patina. Dionysus had hand-painted about nine pieces of denim, while the NTMB team had applied their DIY graphics to denim and sweats that proudly included the 081-telephone prefix of their home city. A red moiré silk and nylon suit for women plus a gold variation for men looked less thrown together, more pieces of precision-cut, unrushed luxury.That was all happening chez Faith Connexion this week. Next week, it’s a new drop of collaboration footwear with Giuseppe Zanotti and a fresh round of high-tempo, short-deadline, high-low mixology to get on with.
2 March 2018
“It’s about continuing our story, the Faith narrative,” said Faith Connexion’s president Maria Buccellati this morning in Paris, from an art-jammed penthouse apartment in a posh nook of the city. The setting, with its Takashi Murakami canvas and its ultra-modern furnishings, fit the co-presentation of men’s Fall and women’s Pre-Fall perfectly. All slick, jumbled, expensive wow factor.There’s a welcome (and outright decadent) gender interplay with this brand, including, today, loosened and luxe blouses, flared or pajama pants, slouchy hoodies and boxers—all of it completely versatile. “You go to the store, and the women are in the men’s section, and vice versa!” Buccellati said. (She was referring to Faith Connexion’s new outpost in Soho, New York City.)Layering and bedazzling and meshing developed further with both collections today. There were all-over sequined, wide-leg trousers made in collaboration with Kappa, and there were fabulously tailored blazers, needle-sharp and covered, on one lapel, with rhinestones. Studded boots, meticulously textured tweed capes, and velvet button-downs rounded out this kind of modern fantasy.Faith Connexion’s hyper-blended m.o. isn’t for everyone, but, separated and sifted, it has found a loyal following of those that like to add a little glamour to their grunge or sparkle to their streetwear (see their recent collab with the Insta-star and utterly captivating Sita Abellan). It should be added that a series of dresses in the Pre-Fall grouping in particular dazzled above the rest: A lace-and-crystal minidress, but with added volume on one shoulder and around the back, was as close to neo-couture as we’ve seen (if you’re willing to accept a term such as neo-couture). A dressmaker was in the room sewing. As a model took a turn in the garment, everyone’s phones flew up. Stitching and snapping—the actions that fuel the Faith Connexion engine.
19 January 2018
Faith Connexion opened a store in New York last month. The French fashion collective is recruiting local graffiti artists to do custom work on army jackets at the shop and on the first weekend even enlisted Parsons School of Design students to do some on-the-spot embroideries. Faith Connexion is a global brand with hundreds of points of sale, but the way it goes about its business is distinctly unconventional and non-corporate, which burnishes its appeal with the young people who respond to the look of its clothes.The Faith Connexion aesthetic exalts the DIY, with a side dish of French savoir faire. If its DIY feels more legit than that of most other brands, it’s because FC engages in so many collaborations with young designers and artists. The doodled-on jean jackets are the work of NTMB, a collective from Naples, Italy, whose initials stand for Never Too Much Basics, and the cool tie-dye-effect jeans are the creation of the 20-something Austin Blaisdell, who’s made a habit of bleaching clothes on a sunbaked Los Angeles rooftop.FC’s new Spring collection relied heavily on a nude couple depicted in silhouette, the kind that you used to see on the hubcaps of unevolved truck drivers. As for the side dish of savoir faire, it was a small helping this season, showcased best in military jackets with vertical zips that arched over the shoulders. Unzipped, the sleeves can be pulled partially off for a look that’s much sexier than those obvious nude silhouette prints. The label’s first-ever bags, modeled after an unstructured vintage style Kate Moss has carried with major brass hardware, will be customizable in store, just like their best-selling army jackets.
3 October 2017
“It’s about continuing our story, the Faith narrative,” said Faith Connexion’s president Maria Buccellati this morning in Paris, from an art-jammed penthouse apartment in a posh nook of the city. The setting, with its Takashi Murakami canvas and its ultra-modern furnishings, fit the co-presentation of men’s Fall and women’s Pre-Fall perfectly. All slick, jumbled, expensive wow factor.There’s a welcome (and outright decadent) gender interplay with this brand, including, today, loosened and luxe blouses, flared or pajama pants, slouchy hoodies and boxers—all of it completely versatile. “You go to the store, and the women are in the men’s section, and vice versa!” Buccellati said. (She was referring to Faith Connexion’s new outpost in Soho, New York City.)Layering and bedazzling and meshing developed further with both collections today. There were all-over sequined, wide-leg trousers made in collaboration with Kappa, and there were fabulously tailored blazers, needle-sharp and covered, on one lapel, with rhinestones. Studded boots, meticulously textured tweed capes, and velvet button-downs rounded out this kind of modern fantasy.Faith Connexion’s hyper-blended m.o. isn’t for everyone, but, separated and sifted, it has found a loyal following of those that like to add a little glamour to their grunge or sparkle to their streetwear (see their recent collab with the Insta-star and utterly captivating Sita Abellan). It should be added that a series of dresses in the Pre-Fall grouping in particular dazzled above the rest: A lace-and-crystal minidress, but with added volume on one shoulder and around the back, was as close to neo-couture as we’ve seen (if you’re willing to accept a term such as neo-couture). A dressmaker was in the room sewing. As a model took a turn in the garment, everyone’s phones flew up. Stitching and snapping—the actions that fuel the Faith Connexion engine.
19 January 2018
The low-meets-highbrow French design crew Faith Connexion went in on a semi-’60s and ’70s rocker vibe for men’s Spring, which also included a co-presentation of women’s Resort. Yet for the most part, the mood was very much what Faith Connexion has established over the past few years: one of eccentric sexiness, piled on a loosely DIY philosophy that appeals to a wide market—from rascally skaters to It girls to fancier flaneur types.Men saw excellent greaser leather jackets, along with groovy tie-dyes (there was that ’60s cue) on sweatshirts and Faith Connexion’s signature cargo pants. Tuxedo slacks were big and baggy, while silk trousers had a bit more of a pool to their break. These were notable, especially when styled with a pink-stained denim shirt-jacket and layered T-shirts.Womenswear skewed racier. There were camouflaged wrapped dresses, one-shouldered bandaged knit gowns, and the like. A Lurex jumper was described by a publicist, humorously, as “Christmastime.” Both genders had T-shirts and tops printed with “New York Is My Home,” ditto for Los Angeles.The newsiest things at Faith Connexion today were its series of collabs; Kappa on tees, Giuseppe Zanotti on fuzzy shin guard heels, K-Way on swimwear (K-Way is a French athletic brand, previously unknown to this reviewer), and what would be the combined collections’ highlight: fake jeans, screen printed on heavy elastane leggings, by the recent Central Saint Martins graduate Stefan Cooke. Available for both men and women, this particular partnership hit the Faith Connexion sweet spot: cool, current, and a little bit crazy.
24 June 2017
The low-meets-highbrow French design crew Faith Connexion went in on a semi-’60s and ’70s rocker vibe for men’s Spring, which also included a co-presentation of women’s Resort. Yet for the most part, the mood was very much what Faith Connexion has established over the past few years: one of eccentric sexiness, piled on a loosely DIY philosophy that appeals to a wide market—from rascally skaters to It girls to fancier flaneur types.Men saw excellent greaser leather jackets, along with groovy tie-dyes (there was that ’60s cue) on sweatshirts and Faith Connexion’s signature cargo pants. Tuxedo slacks were big and baggy, while silk trousers had a bit more of a pool to their break. These were notable, especially when styled with a pink-stained denim shirt-jacket and layered T-shirts.Womenswear skewed racier. There were camouflaged wrapped dresses, one-shouldered bandaged knit gowns, and the like. A Lurex jumper was described by a publicist, humorously, as “Christmastime.” Both genders had T-shirts and tops printed with “New York Is My Home,” ditto for Los Angeles.The newsiest things at Faith Connexion today were its series of collabs; Kappa on tees, Giuseppe Zanotti on fuzzy shin guard heels, K-Way on swimwear (K-Way is a French athletic brand, previously unknown to this reviewer), and what would be the combined collections’ highlight: fake jeans, screen printed on heavy elastane leggings, by the recent Central Saint Martins graduate Stefan Cooke. Available for both men and women, this particular partnership hit the Faith Connexion sweet spot: cool, current, and a little bit crazy.
24 June 2017
Faith Connexionhas been a regular stop on the Paris Fashion Week rounds for two years, but always in the Eighth Arrondissement hôtel particulier where the brand’s atelier and showroom are housed. As it happens, it’s the same hôtel particulier where Kim Kardashian was robbed of millions of dollars in jewels last season. The private hotel and the label have a high-flying VIP clientele in common—the Kim and Kanyes of the world, and Justin Biebers. Today, at Faith’s first-ever runway show, Alicia Keys made a low-key appearance.Otherwise, though, there was nothing low-key about this show—not the early Michael Jackson tunes that played beforehand; not the street-casted crew of young men and women who modeled; and certainly not the clothes which, in signature FC fashion, mixed the street and the couture salon with irresistible irreverence. Was the bejeweled cross on a net top a nod to Christian Lacroix, and Anna Wintour’s firstVoguecover? That’s what this editor saw, but there were nearly three dozen outfits of many colors and layers here, each one of them declaring allegiances of one sort or another.London is my Hometownread a hoodie; long muffler scarves spelled outLos Angelesin block letters; and T-shirts were stenciled with the sloganProtect Earth.It’s one of Paris’s open secrets that Faith Connexion is led by former Balmain creative director Christophe Decarnin. As big and as fast as FC has grown, the studio has managed to maintain its we-made-this-upstairs vibe, which is undeniably part of its appeal. Wearing the label’s spray-painted army jackets, as many in the crowd did today, announces membership in the Faith Connexion tribe. Bleached oversize denim vests stood in for those cargo jackets on the runway. Other prizes for the Faithful will include the unraveling grandpa cardigans embroidered with clusters of stones, and gold sequin track pants with hubcap nudes decorating the side stripes. The female models got the short end of the stick when it came to footwear; their spiked platform boots didn’t have the cool factor of the dudes’ whitewashed Chuck Taylors and cowboy boots. But bad shoes aside, this was an engaging romp from one of Paris’s nonconglomerate success stories. Good timing: The company is set to open a New York store before the next round of shows.
2 March 2017
Faith Connexionhas all the ingredients required for a first-rate runway in 2016. Celebrity clients in the form of Kanye West and Beyoncé for the front row, Instagram-friendly rock ’n’ roll clothes, and massive sales to pay for the whole shebang. And yet, they’re sticking with the showroom and producing a lookbook. Up-and-coming rappers Vic Mensa and Tommy Genesis and DJ Sita Abellán star in it this season, and they look like they’re wearing clothes pulled from their tour suitcases.There are leather jackets and cargo jackets hand-painted by the French graffiti artists Pisco Logik and Vincent Dacquin, rumpled and ruffled lacy white shirts, skinny jeans manhandled with a million different treatments, and punked-up Perfectos by the Korean designer and punk band founder Bajowoo of 99%IS. The formula doesn’t change much season to season, but the collection seems to grow and grow.The most compelling development for Spring is probably Faith’s flag pieces: an oversize hooded coat, a tiny miniskirt with a train, and other looks patchworked together from different countries’ flags. Some of the flags have been stonewashed to look sun-bleached; others appear brand new. Either way they convey an earnestness and optimism that feels somehow against-type for Faith Connexion, while remaining every bit as audacious as the rest of the lineup.This editor tried to convince a PR rep to consider a show next season; Paris could use some badassitude. Sad to report not much progress was made on that front, but there’s always next time.
6 October 2016
Before attending to this ironically prescient Union Jack tabard, a point of order. This menswear collection is released simultaneously with women’s Resort; most of the items here are available in gender specific sizing and are intended to apply to theFaith Connexionfaithful of whatever chromosomal combination. Pre and He are One.Perhaps, it’s true,les hommeswill be less inclined to pick up the frayed olive shirt with caresses of lace detailing that is in fact a bodysuit. And equally, maybe their eye might be less interested in getting hold of the lace boob tube than the ladies. Equally,les femmesmight be less interested in the very butchest and biggest and to-their-eyes possibly reclaimed, but not, suppressed camouflage outwear and cargo pants. And yet there is no apartness at Faith Connexion: Wear what you want, if you want it, whatever you are.So to the tabard. It was painted by Pisco, a street artist, and is one of a series of hand-painted contributions he has made to the collection. It was delivered before the Brexit result. Others included a jacket that demanded, “God Love the Queen” on its back and quivered with hand-cut velvet fringing at its shoulder. Never Too Much Basics, a Neapolitan collective, contributed handwritten detailing on some denim pieces.This rail is as dense with intense-ingredient pieces as any you’ll see in Paris, and there are 400 buying teams that have made appointments to do so, so just a few more highlights include: a Dalmatian-print velvet trailing waistcoat, a gold and peppered trucker gilet, a pulled-apart submariner’s rib knit with tattering and embroidery details at the shoulder, a huge white tweed field jacket with more hand-applied embroidery, and a purple and black tweed “shirt skirt” that made me note: “Chanel for aspirant anarchists.” Which isn’t a terrible summation.
26 June 2016
Before attending to this ironically prescient Union Jack tabard, a point of order. This menswear collection is released simultaneously with women’s Resort; most of the items here are available in gender specific sizing and are intended to apply to theFaith Connexionfaithful of whatever chromosomal combination. Pre and He are One.Perhaps, it’s true,les hommeswill be less inclined to pick up the frayed olive shirt with caresses of lace detailing that is in fact a bodysuit. And equally, maybe their eyes might be less interested in getting hold of the lace boob tube than the ladies. Equally,les femmesmight be less interested in the very butchest and biggest and to-their-eyes possibly reclaimed, but not, suppressed camouflage outwear and cargo pants. And yet there is no apartness at Faith Connexion: Wear what you want, if you want it, whatever you are.So to the tabard. It was painted by Pisco, a street artist, and is one of a series of hand-painted contributions he has made to the collection. It was delivered before the Brexit result. Others included a jacket that demanded, “God Love the Queen” on its back and quivered with hand-cut velvet fringing at its shoulder. Never Too Much Basics, a Neapolitan collective, contributed handwritten detailing on some denim pieces.This rail is as dense with intense-ingredient pieces as any you’ll see in Paris, and there are 400 buying teams that have made appointments to do so, so just a few more highlights include: a Dalmatian-print velvet trailing waistcoat, a gold and peppered trucker gilet, a pulled-apart submariner’s rib knit with tattering and embroidery details at the shoulder, a huge white tweed field jacket with more hand-applied embroidery, and a purple and black tweed “shirt skirt” that made me note: “Chanel for aspirant anarchists.” Which isn’t a terrible summation.
26 June 2016
There was a good deal of mystery aroundFaith Connexionin the early days. The story went that Christophe Decarnin, the designer who made his name at Balmain, was behind the scenes, but nobody was saying for sure. Over the seasons, Faith Connexion reps have begun referring to Decarnin by name, but he still remains a reluctant presence, preferring to let the brand’s graffitied army jackets, hand-painted second-skin jeans, and frilled, fraying New Romantic blouses speak for themselves—and, absent a budget, to leave the marketing to word of mouth and a modest Instagram account. Decarnin shares his approach withSaint Laurent’sHedi Slimane, who largely refused to do interviews early on in hisYSLtenure, and, as we all know, moved the design studio to Los Angeles. There are similarities in their rock ’n’ roll–loving sensibilities, too. Both designers pillage from alternative subcultures, yet still have wicked street cred, a very neat trick.If the rumors are accurate, and Slimane exits Saint Laurent, Decarnin could slot in quite nicely. It’s been rumored thatAnthony Vaccarellois in line for the job, and that makes Decarnin a long-shot candidate for sure, but don’t write him off too quickly. HisBalmaindays weren’t so long ago that we’ve forgotten the excitement around him.There’s a direct lineage between Decarnin’s Balmain moment and Faith Connexion. The lived-in, ravaged vibes are the same, only here his foundation is denim and army surplus, much more crowded categories than couture. One way the brand has been able to distinguish itself among its legions of competitors is with the sur-mesure aspect of its personalized military jackets, one of which was recently modeled byBeyoncé. Decarnin and co. have also expanded beyond jeans and cargos, and the tees and flannels you wear with them. The news this season was in the tweedy, fringedChanel-ish dresses, all that’s prim entirely zapped out of them by their oversize proportions and shaggy, unfinished edges. Most of the women’s collection was actually fit on men, which explains its slouched-on shapes, and the I-just-rolled-out-of-my-boyfriend’s-bed-and-pulled-this-on quality of the clothes. Alternatively, there were painted-on jeans—painted on in every sense, from the cut to the graffiti artist Pisco’s flames creeping up the hems. A surefire hit.
4 March 2016
TheFaith Connexionmother ship on Rue Tronchet is hot, loud, and busy. Entering it, this reviewer felt stupidly out of touch: What reallywasFaith Connexion, anyway? Hearsay said it was the follow-up project of Christophe Decarnin—the man who warmed the bed forRousteingatBalmainthen exited it—and his team. None of the charming hustlers in the humid showroom would answer an oblique question with a straight answer. But the clothes in this third menswear collection said enough. The Runner trouser, patented apparently, features an aesthetically applied panel not dissimilar to Decarnin’s Balmain-period wildly must-have moto pant: Here it came in denim and suede and sweat—“in everything.” There were leathers and denims hand-painted by two collaborators; one of whose style was soft watercolorist, the other Americana and silhouette heavy. Perforated sweats and destroyed denim had their destruction applied by Thomas, the in-house destroyer: He (or she) drills the fabric. There were duffles, including a massively oversize denim piece that took you back to Twisteds, and some pleasingly disemboweled jeans and jumbo cords conjured up by an in-house stylist named Anastasia.A circus theme ran through the collection, expressed in the Barnum graphics on leathers and narrow fish-tail drill parkas by another in-house graffiti artist—Pyscologique, they called him—as well as a velvet reversible Bengal stripe and check ringmaster tailcoat. Bikers kept coming, for squeezing on above undershirt/skirts and looser “grandpa” oversize pants (this old-timer loved them), or jumpsuits in velveteen micro-cords. The squares at the party—discussing economics among themselves while all the cool kids necked—were the cashmere knits, round-necked or V, and plain. But hey, they always sell. Faith Connexion combines aesthetic direxion and ideological circumspexion to (rightfully) merit affexion.
24 January 2016
Faith Connexionbrought its Pre-Fall collection to New York this time around. An earlier date means an extended selling season, and if there’s one thing this Paris brand is doing, it’s selling. It helps when Beyoncé wears your graffiti-tagged military jacket. Hers saysBlue, in honor of her daughter, Blue Ivy. FC does custom orders for top clients, and that notion of personalization, of new clothes that appear as if they’ve been worn and loved for years, is key to the label’s current buzz. One pair of jeans in the lineup is so faded and patched it looks like it has lived several lifetimes. Other pieces, such as a shaggy, oversize cardigan and washed-out flannel shirts and pants, take their cue from grunge.But as the brand gets older, the mix is growing and diversifying. The news this season was ’80s-ish pieces, like a strapless gold lamé ruched cocktail frock with a pouf worthy of Christian Lacroix at one hip and a little black dress with point d’esprit sleeves extending from copious ruffles at the shoulders. Look past the clown shoes that all of the outfits in the lookbook are paired with and you’ll also notice there’s a straight-up-black pantsuit lurking in plain sight.
23 January 2016
Brooklyn may be trending in Paris, but the vibe at Faith Connexion’s headquarters is distinctly L.A. sur la Seine. Step through the door at itshôtel particulier(part of which is a small hotel) and a certain very famous someone’s matte black Porsche Panamera is parked there. In the courtyard, members of fashion’s fabulous class are gossiping while eating lunch while texting on their iPhones. At the reception, a fashion shoot in which a blogger poses, lying shoeless underneath an antique chair, is taking place.Upstairs in the showroom, where the racks are lined with torn jeans, graffitied leather jackets, and lacy white dresses that look like they stepped off the set of Guns N' Roses’ “November Rain” video, the sales are brisk. Faith Connexion has never done a runway show and refuses to name its designer (it's more or less an open secret that former Balmain creative directorChristophe Decarninis in charge). The brand has caught on in spite of all that, because nobody nails the grungy, I-woke-up-like-this lifestyle better. For spring, the attitude is essentially the same as previous seasons, only more California-fied. Tropical prints registered as new, as did sweatshirts spray-painted with palm trees. Hammer pants, which take their name from Oakland, California’s native son, MC Hammer, even turned up. But the big winners here will be the oversize army jackets tagged by Faith Connexion's resident graffiti artists, whose appeal appears to be universal. A rep reports they sent 25 of said jackets to a Seoul, Korea, store and they sold out in a week. In a savvy development, the brand is now also customizing the jackets to clients' specifications
4 October 2015
If ever there was a sign that distinctions between menswear and womenswear have become irrelevant, it's to be found in Paris' Faith Connexion. The brand has two showrooms in its Rue Tronchethôtel particulier, but clothes flow freely between them, with store buyers picking up women's washed silk shirts for their men's department and men's denim jackets for their women's floors. In most cases, the only difference between what hangs on the guys' racks and the girls' racks is a few extra inches in the shoulders and the inseam and a few less at the waist. Sizing is one thing. Faith's gender-bender pièce de résistance, this season at least, was a sequin hoodie with a trompe l'oeil beaded cardigan stitched over the top. They photographed it on a male model so pretty he'd send most females into a jealous rage. (An aside: If you want to experience jealous rage, find a pic of Daria Werbowy at theParis Voguedinner in the brand's parachute silk jumpsuit gown. How do you feel now?)But Faith Connexion is connecting with retailers for a reason besides fashion's current fixation on androgyny. It mostly has to do with that other obsession of ours: youth. More specifically: wasted youth. The tattered and torn jeans, the bleached-out flannel pajama pants, bondage jumpsuits dripping in D-rings and straps, leather jackets hand-painted with skulls, skirts made from shirts tied so cavalierly at the hips it looks like you could give one sleeve a tug and the little thing would drop to your ankles. If there's a collection more alienating to the over-55 set, we can't think of it. Everybody else, of course, is on a quest to look permanently 25. Faith has that demographic—and all of the wannabes—nailed.
7 July 2015
If ever there was a sign that distinctions between menswear and womenswear have become irrelevant, it's to be found in Paris' Faith Connexion. The brand has two showrooms in its Rue Tronchethôtel particulier, but clothes flow freely between them, with store buyers picking up women's washed silk shirts for their men's department and men's denim jackets for their women's floors. In most cases, the only difference between what hangs on the guys' racks and the girls' racks is a few extra inches in the shoulders and the inseam and a few less at the waist. Sizing is one thing. Faith's gender-bender pièce de résistance, this season at least, was a sequin hoodie with a trompe l'oeil beaded cardigan stitched over the top. They photographed it on a male model so pretty he'd send most females into a jealous rage. (An aside: If you want to experience jealous rage, find a pic of Daria Werbowy at theParis Voguedinner in the brand's parachute silk jumpsuit gown. How do you feel now?)But Faith Connexion is connecting with retailers for a reason besides fashion's current fixation on androgyny. It mostly has to do with that other obsession of ours: youth. More specifically: wasted youth. The tattered and torn jeans, the bleached-out flannel pajama pants, bondage jumpsuits dripping in D-rings and straps, leather jackets hand-painted with skulls, skirts made from shirts tied so cavalierly at the hips it looks like you could give one sleeve a tug and the little thing would drop to your ankles. If there's a collection more alienating to the over-55 set, we can't think of it. Everybody else, of course, is on a quest to look permanently 25. Faith has that demographic—and all of the wannabes—nailed.
29 June 2015
Christophe Decarnin transformed Balmain from a fusty old couture has-been to the hottest thing going in his 10 seasons at the brand. Since his abrupt departure from the label in 2011, he's remained out of the headlines. But maybe not for long. Rumors suggest that Decarnin and his entire Balmain-era team are ensconced at the Paris label Faith Connexion, the president of which, Alexandre Allard, was involved in Balmain's mid-aughts renaissance.Allard and his team won't confirm the reports. Instead, they've produced a Faith Connexion manifesto. "Just like the only obligation of an artist is to be free, Fashion needs to be free," it begins. "Freed from Fall/Winter, Spring/Summer seasons, freed from multimillion-dollar shows, freed from flagship stores, and freed from star designers." Without the benefit of runway shows and all the rest, the brand has been quick to pick up retailers: Maxfield, Saks Fifth Avenue, Net-a-Porter, and Luisa Via Roma, for starters, and more coming soon.The general ethos of Faith Connexion is Paris-meets-Bushwick. For Fall, the collection encompassed everything from double-breasted leather blazers with a sexy, off-the-shoulder cut to shredded, bleached, and otherwise mistreated jeans to tiny, little minidresses of the Balmain variety. But where Balmain was about injecting couture-level clothes with a rock-and-roll vibe, at Faith Connexion, the point is to treat your everyday kit in a couture-like manner. Shearling jackets, leather leggings, and cotton tees tagged to one-of-a-kind results by graffiti artists were among the successful examples of this process. Sequined tops as heavy as dumbbells were one of the ways it went wrong this season. Most of the time, though, the clothes remained as offhanded and cool as their streetwise starting points. The faded flannel shirts suspended from the waistbands of miniskirts or shorts, for instance, felt like something you've worn and tossed in the wash hundreds of times.Secrets don't stay secret in this industry for long. But if the Saint Laurent revival has taught us anything, it's that you don't need a public face to be a success. Hedi Slimane doesn't do interviews and generally maintains his distance from the press, and look at what a bang-up business he's doing.
16 March 2015
Somewhere in Paris, a self-described "creative tribe" of graffiti artists, models, and the entire pre-Rousteing Balmain team (all of them) are busy cooking up Faith Connexion's next big thing. The brand, for those not familiar, is these days synonymous with a certain gung ho rock-and-roll glitz. And it should come as little surprise, given the label's supergroup status, that there's a goodly dose of Balmain's Decarnin-era glamour to the clothes. They clock in at a friendlier price point, and with an approachably grungy side that ensures you needn't be a runway Valkyrie like Anja Rubik to carry it off.Spring saw the bold yin out to play in full force, in fluoro jackets and cutout bra tops, but for Fall things leaned decidedly—and happily—toward a more muted, Parisienne yang. Take the silk ruffled poet blouse. Easy, oversize, and a bit offbeat, it got to the core of Faith Connexion's proportion play: If there's a big dramatic top, chances are you'll find nearly painted-on jeans or a pelvis-grazing mini down below. Here, the former came in a lean moto cut, the latter in feathers and tulle (or, for a subtler touch, a style that mimicked knotting a slouchy jacket at one's waist). That skirt was teamed with a bustier, though party girls from Saint-Germain and Soho will no doubt be happy to pair it with the off-the-shoulder blazer, reminiscent ofthosehyper-fitted sculptural numbers, or one of the hand-tagged leather jackets and a boyfriend's tee.Fall also marked the launch of Faith Connexion menswear. From the glittery trousers and skinny jeans all the way down to a gold lamé shirt, those pieces were a fitting complement to the existing girls' range. And while a high-shine, iridescent, shearling-trimmed topper isn't going to do it for some men, it was a hell of a lot of fun, like the bulk of this offering.
12 March 2015