Following Martine Sitbon as the second womens designer to curate an A, it was clear that Veronique Branquinho was to present a very different vision of femininity and the modern woman in A#6. As a designer, Veronique has never been one for excessive embellishment and exaggeration, rather choosing to craft a romantic and classical wardrobe borrowing from masculine tailoring techniques – essentially underpinned with a dreamy softness of fabric and drape.

Wearing her influences on her sleeve, Veronique’s streak of darkness is always evident, as she counts the work of David Lynch and Tim Burton amongst her inspirations, and the music of Nick Cave, Radiohead and Joy Division as her soundtrack.

The 1975 Australian film ‘Picnic at Hanging Rock’ was the starting point for Veronique’s first presentation in Paris in 1997 – with crisp white shirting, longline blazers and tiered, pleated floor length sundresses setting a relaxed tone. Such classical, elegant minimalism followed through subsequent collections, with flared trousers, trench coats, capes and high-neckline blouses that resounded a film-noir, Katherine Hepburn-esque ease.

Over the years, Veronique has carried her aesthetic through several brooding, cinematic photoshoots with photographers such as Ronald Stoops, Alex Salinas, and Raf Coolen. Portraying women as both powerful and sensitive, the below images tell a sincere narrative of intelligent, instinctual heroines whose gaze penetrates far deeper than fabric.

Above: Spring Summer 1998 photographed by Ronald Stoops.

Above: Fall Winter 1999 photographed by Raf Coolen.

Above: Fall Winter 2002 photographed by Raf Coolen.

Above: Fall Winter 2004-2005 photographed by Alex Salinas.

Above: Spring Summer 2005 photographed by Alex Salinas.

Images, all rights reserved.

David Lynch is a man with a world-renowned vision of darkness, and a twisted perspective on the everyday environs around us. Nicknamed ‘Jimmy Stewart from Mars’, he is responsible for cult films and art pieces ranging through photography, to drawing and painting. Some of his most famous works include ‘Mulholland Drive’, ‘Twin Peaks’, and ‘Lost Highway’.

For Veronique Branquinho’s A#6, four of Lynch’s photographs have been included, from his 2007 exhibition ‘The Air is on Fire’ at the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain in Paris. Entitled ‘Nudes and Smoke’, the images portray a raw feminity with a cinematic sensuality, accentuated by the enveloping, secretive, fluid qualities of the smoke.

THE AIR IS ON FIRE BY DAVID LYNCH

© 2007 | David Lynch