To the sound of Bossa nova, Brazilian couturier Gustavo Lins sent a small collection of sensual designs down the convoluted corridors of the Brazilian embassy, mixing his usual tailored suits with light scarf dresses in hand-printed silk, which were expertly knotted around the neck.

The starting point for many of his silhouettes developed from masculine elements – suits, jackets or trousers – which the designer deconstructed to transform them into fluid and feminine garments. Blue mink added sharp touches of colour to an otherwise mainly dark palette of blacks and smoky greys, sometimes mixed with lime green.

“Women’s collections that are a bit masculine are always the most beautiful! This collection is a mixture of columns and volutes... The cut of a suit is the basis of my craft, and as I’m more of a geometricist than a mere draughtsman, I never lose sight of this,” the trained architect mused.

As an appetizer to his upcoming Couture show in January, which will include a dress made from twenty-six pieces of Sèvres porcelain, Lins created six Sèvres jewellery pieces. Each one was lined with metal by Parisian jeweller Goossens Paris for more solidity. “Porcelain is a sensual material, a mixture of hot and cold. I wanted to exploit its fragility and ephemerality, the contrast between its rigidity and the suppleness of the fabric. Porcelain is like a lightweight armour that is useless because it breaks. Rather Surrealist, but haute couture!” the couturier explained.

First published in Couture by Designaré – Vol 3 (September 2012)