It's A GOUDE Summer at Desigual SS2018

When Jean-Paul Goude steps on board as an Artistic Director, even if it was just for a day, one can expect an endless rush of eccentricity in order. 

Renowned for his avant-garde vision and the visionary behind Grace Jones’ iconic yet unforgettable album covers, Jean-Paul Goude is creating another huge fanfare within the fashion sphere with his collaboration with Spanish fashion label Desigual.

Se to take the fashion sphere by storm next spring and summer, the capsule collection is part of Goude’s job scope in his role as the label’s new Artistic Director, which also include consulting every aspect of the Desigual brand image from product design to marketing efforts. It also acts as an introduction for Goude’s continued collaborative role beyond the spring/summer season window.

Says Jean-Paul Goude on the collaboration, "I like challenges and helping Desigual on the process of updating its image while keeping faithful to its DNA it is extremely exciting. I hope I will be up to the task".

“Desigual has long stood for authenticity, singularity and nonconformity. This artistic collaboration with Jean-Paul Goude signifies a step forward in Desigual's desire to permit talent from myriad disciplines to contribute to—and enrich—the diversity of the brand by way of their unexpected works,” says David Meire, Desigual's CCO on the exciting collaboration with Goude.  

Recently presented on the runway at New York Fashion Week last September, the collection, aptly titled Desigual Couture has wowed the likes of Azealia Banks, A$SAP Ferg, photographer duo Inez & Vinodh Matadin and Yolanda Hadid and a coterie of fashion editors who converged at the front row. The 16-piece collection is inspired by a voyage through a multitude of jungles. 

It blended cross-cultural references in a panoply of colours and creativity interwoven with optimism, non-conformity and vitality. The pieces are casual and replete with various textures such as raffia and polka dots as well as emphasis on looseness and patterns.

“Cultural diversity, street-chic as a democratized form of Couture, festivity, originality, rhythm, and humour—these are the values that not only refer to Desigual’s DNA, but to my own, as well. Let’s say we are on the same wavelength,” says Goude on the collection.

The collection includes colour-blocked knitted sweaters, interwoven with mesh and marine stripes, kimono and pyjama volumes in fluid fabrics, jackets complemented by golden accent jewellery in leather or denim, and bohemian skirts and dresses treated with trippy geometric prints. 

Goude also threw in an eclectic mix of patterns that merges the nuances of a tropical vacation in Tahiti and the contemporary Pop culture – think tropical flowers and palm groves found abundant in the Polynesian island with Mickey Mouse! 

In a way, Goude would describe his collection for Desigual as a puzzle and each piece used to assemble it represents the spirit of the label: Unexpected yet dynamic and authentic.

Desigual Couture spring/summer 2018 womenswear collection by Jean-Paul Goude will be available at all Desigual stores worldwide next year.

*Photos courtesy of Desigual

Desigual - 4.23.00, Level 4, Pavilion Kuala Lumpur, 168 Jalan Bukit Bintang, 55100 Kuala Lumpur