Hands Up: Anne Isabella

The Tactile Winter of Anne Isabella

French-Danish and based in Berlin, Anne Isabella grew up in Belgium and studied in the UK. She is currently in Paris, presenting her collection at the Palais de Tokyo.  “I was more interested in drawing, and I gradually moved towards fashion. With time, I learned how to master my hands. It takes practice. It’s like singing. By trying various things, the hand acquires a mastery. The point is not to be repetitive, but to become familiar with the techniques. Drawing is a language. By having its own mark, the cut is of great interest to me. I like working in one dimension and creating shapes. When I was quilting a lot, the needles kept falling out, so I learned how to pin more smoothly. My hands are still covered with little sores; nothing serious, but they’re visible. This season is especially tactile. It’s my fourth collection, but the first time I’m presenting in Paris. I worked with a wool, like a blanket, from which I cut dresses, pants, we cut ribbons, there are a lot of textures, the finishes with clean edges, are a break from what I had done before. Everything was more graphic.  Here, there are different kinds of stitching, and everything is more textured. I played with stripes in 3D that became folds. The organic cashmere brings a singular presence to the knitwear. The recycled polyester creates depth, as though we are entering different worlds, playing with extremes – worn and new, thin and thick. After three seasons of digital presentations, I needed to express a return to something more physical, leaving room for the materials to simply come alive – so that people can see them, feel them.”