One Man’s Trash is Another’s… Haute Couture?
This season Ashi Studio exhibited a radical diversion from the norm, unveiling a collection completely devoid of names, titles, or narratives. Mohammad Ashi’s Fall/Winter Couture show took place within the beautifully neoclassical Musée de la Monnaie, which rests elegantly on the banks of the Seine. Recognized as the first designer from the Gulf Region to achieve status within the Fédération de la Haute Couture, he earned widespread acclaim within Saudi Arabian Fashion as well as the global market. Nonetheless, Ashi explained that having faced a bout of writer's block when it came to the upcoming Fall Couture Week, he subsequently found himself wandering a Paris Flea Market. What exactly he sought remains uncertain, but what he found, became the spark for a breathtaking reconstruction of classic couture.
Known for his eclectic designs and experience dressing red-carpet regulars such as Zendaya, Beyonce, and Cardi B , the A-list attendees came as no surprise. Female American rapper, Cardi B, Philipino-German model and actress, Pia Wurtzbach, model and architect, Fai Khadra, entrepreneur and fashion consultant, Nojoud Alrumaihi, and iconic Italian fashion editor, Anna Dello Russo, all showed enthusiastic support, even posing for photo-ops with the designer after the show concluded.
Process, not premeditated narrative, fueled Ashi’s creations this season, ensuring that the collection exemplified sheer craftsmanship. A patchwork approach to Haute Couture is surely unconventional, but perhaps that only enhanced its effect. Incorporating echoes of late-eighteenth century Victorian silhouettes and aristocratic luxury, the collection muttered reimaginings of baroque opulence and deconstruction.
A Vision of the Deuxième État
Reminiscent of a time defined by curtsies, bows, and rigid social rank, models took serene turns about each room, angelically portraying themselves as poised paragons of propriety. Dialogue from an interview with The Federation De La Haute Couture in 2024 further exemplified the designers attitude toward time and integrity within fashion, “Craftsmanship is a slow and precious knowledge,” he declared. “Isn’t time the ultimate luxury?”
Measured, thoughtful, and melodious, looks did not simply stampede past, but encouraged unhurried and thoughtful consumption. Intentionally sparse seating arrangements enforced the notion that we must fully digest each design, without the constraints of time or obstruction of crowd, before congratulating or dismissing it. Wooden corsets carved with animalistic details (Look 7), a crinoline devoid of its concealing counterpart (Look 16), and Chinoiserie depictions whose traditional appeal provided ornate flair (Looks 15, 21, 22) reinforced the originality of his inspiration, or more-fittingly perhaps, lack thereof.
Ashi’s appreciation for the power of a moment, especially one preserved even temporarily within the present, was apparent in every productive element of the show. An ominous voice, fairytale-like in its soft narration, narrated each look as it entered and provided a brief description of its grandeur. A dramatic orchestral soundtrack, fit to underscore the climactic battle of a period drama or the long-awaited confession of an enemies-to-lovers trope, lent each look its own story, coalescing into a montage of resplendent spectacle.
Through this cinematic experience, Ashi told a story of his own. Not one attributed to an integral muse, life-changing experience, or profound intellect from which the visceral artistry was created, though all influential in their own right, but from the natural passion from which every artistic journey is sparked. In refusing to name his collection, he reminded us that true couture doesn’t always begin with a story, but sometimes writes a far more engaging one in the process. Although it is often the artist who describes his oeuvre, it is the creation itself that offers introspection into its creator.
