Looking back, moving forward

A model presents creations by Cedric Charlier [Photo/Agencies]

Cedric Charlier's art obsession

Former Cacharel designer Cedric Charlier gave a neat Modernist makeover to sartorial and sportswear silhouettes.

The Belgian designer is clearly an art-lover - in previous collections he has channeled references as diverse as the 20th century "Art Brut" movement and Dutch Master Brueghel.

In Wednesday's show, he continued his signature architectural musings, but with more than a whiff of Dutch painter Piet Mondrian's color-blocking.

Funky, contrasting colors - such as cobalt and royal blue with flesh pink and white - appeared on ensembles with clean, sanitized lines, such as a statement wool coat with oversize curved lapels.

Elsewhere, there were flashes of Modernist geometry - in one blue and pink sports dress with curved lines that optically accentuated the female body, or, then, on a sweater and skirt with horizontal and vertical lines that perhaps fared less well.