Holographic embroideries tracing geometric waves, the colors of the desert sun woven into asymmetric dresses, couturier tweed entwined onto pants and blazers, and voluminous displays of floating satin duchess fabrics: This is Mantra, Maison Rami Kadi’s Couture Spring Summer 2023 collection.
Every aspect of Mantra’s 25 looks was designed to be an embodiment of the image of Gaia. Ocean waves and sand ripples are reflected through patterns and mazes inspired by these terrestrial phenomena. Granite Green, Cosmic Sky Purple, and Lava Falls Red are among the celebration of colors that mirror those of the spirit of nature.
Thematic throughout the mystical collection are drapes that flow out from the gowns, wrapping the body with a balm tenderness and offering a sense of spiritual cleansing. Indeed, the imperial volume surrounding each piece gives a sense of the aura radiating from its every curve and pleat.
“We didn’t want to restrict the spiritual expression of the pieces solely to patterns and colors,” explains Rami Kadi about this unique approach, “We wanted to turn the space around each dress into an extension of this artistic representation.”
This ethereal spirit of the couture pieces set the scene for the cybershow that launched the Spring Summer 2023 Mantra couture collection. The show, which was live-streamed on the Maison’s official Instagram page on the 26th of January, invited viewers on a numinous trip that sees the models make their journey from dark to light, in a manifestation of the path towards enlightenment.
Sporadic lights at the opening of the show offer fleeting glimpses of the dynamic movements on the gowns. Then, through the cleansing fumes of burning sages, the models appear, their faces decorated with make-up inspired by indigenous designs, sending a message that “this collection has a mantra, and its mantra is a hymn of Earth.”
The models make their way through a mirrored runway that twines its way through illusive sand dunes, an outburst of light now illuminating their path. Among the dresses debuted in the show was the collection’s feature piece, vaunting an Ocean Wave Turquoise color, embroidered with infinity circles that intertwin with linear lines. Scattered arch mirrors along the dunes offer captured reflections of the dresses, as if to echo the refrain of the pieces.
The show comes to an illuminous conclusion with the collection’s elysian bridal dress. Fashioned from the color of white sand and shrouded with elements that emanate peaceful energy, the bridal dress provides the final, light-filled note in this sacred Mantra.
Mantra is Rami Kadi’s personal homage to the state of rootedness and stability resembled by the spirit of Earth.