Backstage
Set in the historical Bibliothèque Mazarine, Wild Rose & Sparrow invites you to their SS26 collection: Ex Libris.
Presented in three chapters, each one explores the house’s most cherished literary leitmotifs.
The Show
Looks
Chapter I: Coven
The first chapter, which is an homage to gothic literature, explores dark beguiling silhouettes with reinvented haunting Victorian detailing through black novelty lace, transparencies presented alongside black tulle accents which provide depth and texture to this chapter. Certain looks feature sirenesque silhouettes, with body-skimming lace panelling hemmed by black chiffon, and mini skirts that gain their volume from Victorian inspired bustles paired over narrow, floor length lace dresses. Other styles are crafted from black silk chiffon, whose diaphanous appearance mimics the translucent quality of peering at a figure underwater. This theme is carried into other looks from this chapter, including a floor-length black lace gown which is adorned by a tulle capelet, creating a silhouette inspired by Gustav Klimt’s haunting painting Mermaids. Taken altogether, this chapter is a gathering of designs that create the portrait of a coven, radiant with a sense of equal parts sisterhood and fortitude.
Chapter II: Chevalière
The second chapter is inspired by medieval heroines and heraldic imagery, drawing inspiration from Joan of Arc and Arthurian legends. It begins with a shock of scarlet cotton, breaking from the all-black silhouettes presented just prior. This segment explores structured silhouettes; stiffened cottons shaped into form fitting jackets, heavily embroidered fabrics whose thread-woven surface evokes medieval tapestries and beaded pieces that glint from beneath knife-pleated skirts, reminiscent of chainmail.
Châtelaines, antique keys and vintage chainmail purses adorn these looks, sourced for their wrought and weathered patina and styled as inédite necklaces and bracelets. Ribbons that embellish the waistlines of corseted and structured silhouettes bear the motif of the fleur-de-lys, as a nod to the designers’ Montréal home. This chapter presents pieces in shades of vermillion and kermes red, echoing the colors of medieval illuminures.
The final design of this segment was inspired by Pre-Raphaelite painter J.W. Waterhouse’s depiction of the Lady of Shalott. Originally an Arthurian legend, the entrancing tale of the Lady of Shalott has inspired artists for centuries. The silhouette in the Ex Libris collection draws from Waterhouse’s portrayal of the Lady, who rises from her tapestry weaving, gold thread encircling her ethereal white gown. The chapter’s closing design features a similarly seraphic gossamer silk chiffon, with fitted sleeves and a billowy bodice, swathed in hand sculpted gold thread applied around the silhouette, crafting an organic drape that clings to the wearer.
Chapter III: Sonnet
This leads effortlessly into the third and final chapter, which is an ode to sonnets and poetry, coalescing Edwardian elements with soft sheer cottons and airy lace detailing. This segment tells the story of ethereal creatures, embodying the lilting prose they represent. Adorned in embroidered whites and creams, these designs feature guipure lace appliqués and broderie anglaise cotton. These silhouettes are adorned with antique Edwardian collars which, in parting from their canonical styling, are placed at the hips of dresses, or around the waistline, to create fin-like shapes that add volume and texture to the silhouette.
This chapter plays with opacities, juxtaposing a sheer lace-paneled motif like a crest in the center of the bodice, with embroidered cotton on either side. Bloomers and chemisettes and other cotton confections capture the essence of sonnets, often tender in their nature, and ephemeral in length. The collection closes with a floor-length white cotton gown, crafted in tiers and featuring an empty back and window pane bodice, epitomizing this collection’s romantic soul as a reflection of the brand’s house codes.
Together, these three chapters form a triptych that embodies Wild Rose & Sparrow’s vision for spring-summer: unapologetically romantic, steeped in history and literature that unravel into the prêt-à-porter silhouettes, combining poetic sensibility with intentional craftsmanship.
Mise-en-Scène
The Ex Libris show was set in the historical and iconic Bibliothèque Mazarine, in the heart of the Institut de France. A gem of French culture, it was the perfect venue for the Wild Rose & Sparrow show, blending history and literature.
Selecting unexpected locations that are intimately tied to their collections’ themes has become a signature for the house, and this year’s show venue was no exception. The Wild Rose & Sparrow Spring Summer Prêt-à-Porter collection, inspired by the love of literature, was held in the Bibliothèque Mazarine, the oldest library in France in the heart of the famed Institut de France. This illustrious library is one of the gems of France’s cultural identity, and is a closely guarded treasure obscured from the public eye, making it all the more special that they accepted to open their doors to host this event and allowed the library to become, for a few short hours, part of the Wild Rose & Sparrow world. Guests were seated at the library’s reading tables, and, as the music started, models emerged from a secret door hidden behind a bookshelf in the main reading room.
