commuunF1025PARIS, Mar 15, 2010 / FW/ — Inspired by African culture, Kaito Hori and Iku Furudate, the designers behind the label Commuun decided to use ONLY black models this season highlighting the elegance of African-origined women, which by the way was also the muse of the designers.

A very tight color palette of black and gray that were interspersed with mysterious shades of orange, gold, red and blue just to make it very interesting, the Commuun Fall 2010 proposes architectural silhouettes this season.

Balancing the hard-edged shapes with folding and draping that took into consideration the mystic color palette, Kaito Hori and Iku Furudate were very successful in creating a modernistic yet timeless collection.

Founded in 2005, Commuun had shown in Paris ever since. Sold worldwide by shops like l’Eclaireur in Paris, Dover Street Market in London, 10 Corso Como in Japan, Boon the shop in Korea, Al Ostoura in Kuwait, Commuun is fast becoming a must-have label among the fashion set.

The core idea of Commuun’s image is drawn from the structural aspect of nature balancing between harmony and tensions. The design aims at reconstructing these features through simple strong shapes and fine detailing.

This fundamental approach is also reflected in the exclusive use of natural and organic fabrics. A detailed research is undertaken in order to determine the most adequate fabrics to work with.
The materials are further refined through the use of the traditional French pattern cutting technique to create well tailored functional clothes reinforced by futuristic details of long-lasting quality.

In 2007, Commuun was awarded LVMH prize and Longchampprize for A.N.D.A.M. awards.

Though Iku Furudate and Kaito Hori are both Japanese natives, they took different routes in fashion. Furudate studied at Bunka Fashion College in Tokyo, then, continued her education at Central Saint Martins College in London. Her graduation work was selected for the Hyeres Festival 2002.

On the other hand, Kaito Hori left Japan for New York where he studied at FIT. In 2000, he moved to the Netherlands to study at Arnhem Academy of Arts and worked at Balenciaga at the same time in Paris.
His graduation work was selected in 2004 for ITS3 (International Talent Support 3).

[SARA CONDE]
Photos courtesy of Commuun

Paris Pret-a-porter Fall 2010