Trésors Sauvages, a London-based womenswear brand, was founded in 2012 by Creative Director and Artist Amalie Beljafla while she was at London’s prestigious Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design.Trésors Sauvages’ first collection was showcased on the 18th of February, 2013 at the Bulgari Hotel, Knightsbridge, London and later at Fashion Forward at Souk Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai, winning Beljafla the Grazia and Vogue award for best upcoming Middle Eastern Designer.
With a Middle-Eastern background, Beljafla took her inspiration for the AW13 Flamingo Collection from the UAE’s flamingo species, presenting the theme through a layered construction of illustrative representations, architectural arabesques, and textural intensity, manifesting a mirage of natural exoticism.
For AW13, a unique embroidery technique was exclusively created. Each piece of the collection was hand-crafted, hand-coloured and then tailored in-house. Luxurious fabrics were sourced from around the world: Japanese cashmeres, Italian leathers, Shetland Island sheep’s yarn and Indian acid-wash silks.
“Our pieces stand out, not only because of the passion and time that has been put into creating them but because of the uniquely collaborative philosophy within the House. The richness of that vision is present.” – Amalie Beljafla
Beljafla’s ink and line-drawn illustrations provide the starting-point for the graphic of each collection. Layered water-colours and intensely lined surrealist flamingos exploded on trouser prints and were woven into complex kaleidoscopic patterns. In AW13, this graphic intensity was anchored by the magnificent floor-length ombre show-piece.
Meanwhile, multi-textured back silhouettes stood out with silent maturity: the pony-fur little black dress and artisanal knit were forecasted to be Autumn/Winters most popular pieces, while hand-crafted fully embroidered jackets were produced only on limited and exclusive commission.
The beauty of the exotic flamingo was translated into the cut of the collection: high-rising arm holes, austere shoulder lines, elongated waists and cuffed trousers presented an ethereal silhouette of a woman, standing in a mirage of moonlight installed in the midnight-lagoon at the ballroom of the Bulgari Hotel.
