Behind the show: Hanna MW and Rosie Assoulin
By: xxx Published: d/m/Y
Stylist and Hobnob friend Hanna MW is that woman you follow on instagram and wonder which universe she’s in and why you are not there with her. Everything is cooler, mor colorful, seem to taste better and feel better. Of course when you meet Hanna in real life she is all that too (better even). New York based fashion designer Rosie Assoulin is just the same. New York is really having a moment again after a few years of living in the shadow of Paris. In context of fashion weeks that is. But if New York is cool, Rosie Assoulin is even cooler. She is in her own universe as well and makes you wonder what everyone else is even doing. And last week Rosie and Hanna met to create one common universe for Rosie Assoulin’s Spring Summer 2020 show.
It became a Big Bang.
Hanna MW on getting to know Rosie Assoulin
Everything started 2 years ago when I noticed Rosie Assoulin SS18 and totally fell in love with the collection and the brand. I spotted the dress of my dreams in that collection, and when I was going to Bali I couldn`t stop dreaming about bringing the matcha latte green silk dress from Rosie.
I contacted them on instagram and asked if I could borrow the dress. It turned out that Rosie, herself was the one who were running their instagram and from then on we started keeping contact. It turned out that we were a great match creatively. During fashion week last season I visited Rosie in her beautiful NYC office, I loved her energy and her brand even more after meeting her in person. When I landed in NYC for FW this season Rosie asked me if I could help her style the presentation and the answer was of course yes.
On styling the New York Fashion Week presentation
This time I got involved quite late in the process. Its always important to start with taking in the thoughts from the designers behind the collection and understand the vision and ideas behind it before starting the styling process. After that I usually deep dive into the collection and start experimenting with different possible combinations and getting a feel for the pieces. This is usually followed by an initial fitting where I style on the models and where we decide which look goes on which models etc. I also work closely with the sewers to make the final adjustments for the fits. I really enjoy being a part of all the creative parts in a shoot or show, everything from the casting to the mood and the choice of location.
The challenges in styling a show are quite different than when styling an editorial. When styling a show it’s a lot of work in the logistic parts, the presenting order of the looks is one really important part of the process. Lastly I work with all the details and accessories.
About the collection
The Rosie Assoulin Spring Summer 2020 collection is so strong. Maybe my favorite of all Rosies collection, although it’s hard to play favorites. There are a lot of colors and different mixes of patterns. All the pieces are super strong individually but absolutely not sprawling, the opposite even, it feels very cohesive.
To me, the collection is a rendezvous between Morocco and the Italian Riviera. Voluminous silhouettes, interesting cuttings and just amazing details. Me, a person always in the search for the perfect vacation pieces, was thrilled to see everything I ever want my wardrobe to contain in one collection.
Hanna on the styling
I put a lot on my focus in the details, there was so many beautiful accessories to work with in the collection.
Every time I do a styling job I try to focus on creating something new, fun and something unexpected. So of course that was the case now too.
Hanna takes us trough the day of the show
The call time was at 09.00, I started the day with a bagel and a coffee to go from the hotel (I was staying at The standard and they btw have the best bagels in nyc) I jumped in a uber and arrived at Union Square Park and walked through the park to the beautiful building where the show was going to take place. I noticed the many beautiful details in the building and I totally understood why Rosie had chosen this location for the collection, it was a match made in heaven. Even the bathrooms were pretty!
The styling took place in a styling tent outside of the building. The hours before the show was all about different preparations, fittings, hair and makeup for the models and planning for the structure of the presentation.
We also shot the look book for the collection during this time.
At 4pm all the guests arrived to the location and we sent out the models, it really felt like it was a lovely summer garden party going on outside the styling tent.
There were fewer models than looks which means that we rotated the looks and during the presentation I was in the styling tent and re-styled the models every 15 minutes, in total there were circa 30 looks.
It was such a nice vibe out there and the whole collection looked so beautiful together. I’m so happy to have been a part of this. I celebrated with room service and slept at 21.30 haha..
Images by Hanna MW
Follow Hanna MW on instagram here.
Experience the full collection on Vogue Runway here.