Germanier: Paris Fashion Week's most exciting new talent

By

Godfrey Deeny

Published
Mar 7, 2023

Kevin Germanier is a Swiss with an Irish name who happens to be bursting with talent. As his zany, surrealist yet also commercial collection shown Monday in Christie’s Paris auction house fully displayed.
 

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He managed to combine his high-octane, full-color bead-encrusted designs with a neat series of blazers, spencers and jackets. Ideal gear to wear to Dua Lipa’s after party, or stun an admirer into submission. 
 
Kevin has an innate understanding of fashion vocabulary, so his sequined jackets with four faux pockets riffed on Chanel, and his crystal trimmed party frocks recalled the New Look.

“They are my business cards, where I am saying if you need a new designer at Chanel or Dior then I am available,” chuckled Kevin in a pre-show chat.
 
Presented to a telling array of fashion insiders, this felt like a break-out show by Germanier, one of a group of young talents that have been included in Sphere, the fashion incubator of the Federation de la Haute Couture et de la Mode, French high-fashion’s governing body.
 
Born near Zermatt, Germanier is the polished prince of thrilling glam recycling. He likes to throw pearls, beads, strass, crystals and feathers on snug, bodycon clothes, generally made of found or upcycled materials.

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He culled his first beads from a trip to Hong Kong, and employed upcycled polyester and flannel in this show. Even his mum and granny got in on the act, sewing together a beautifully shiny metallic mesh mini jacket.
 
Blessed with a vibrant color sense worthy of Yves or Dries – seen in his cobalt blue feather mini paired with an Aurelian yellow sequined jacket, another reason Kevin seems tipped for greatness.
 
When first encountered hanging on a rack in Sphere his complex clothes seem far-fetched. Worn on a cool cast this evening in Paris and Germanier suddenly seems like 'The Next Big Thing'. Someone should really give Kevin control of a couture house, his talent is ready to let rip.
 
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