ASHI SS21 COUTURE COLLECTION

“Mrs. Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself.” To say that humanity is fascinated with flowers, Nature’s very own treasures, is an understatement. But their beauty alone doesn’t explain why Mrs Dalloway would want to leave the comfort of her home to confront a world in recovery, and her own trauma, for a few ephemeral blooms, however beautiful. If we look closely, flowers are so much more. Whether sending extravagant roses or reaching for a daisy on the sidewalk, flowers are vehicles that carry emotions. To us, so is couture. For a designer, particularly a couturier, continuing to create is offering one’s sentiment to the eyes of the world. A bouquet of moments, a bushel of souvenirs, a wreath of emotions. We wanted to present a couture creation not because we are out of touch with the world but because it’s a way of not letting go. Not letting down the suppliers who make the exquisite materials of our métier, not letting down the teams we have gathered, not forgetting the ideals that formed us. As we move back into the world, the collection becomes a gateway to life as we knew it, or more precisely a life experienced in all its glorious bloom. Colours embody the emotions – sunny yellow, a bracing pink, vibrant orange, dove grey – that bloom behind our eyes. Bursting into opulent shapes, the silhouettes are graphic impressions, sharp as a flash of delight or a bolt of sadness on a clear afternoon. As Spring shimmers under the frozen surface of our lives, a bril