For fall, ArdAzAei turned to the depths of the ocean for a collection that unfolded with both softness and structure in the gardens of the Fondation Cartier.
Titled “The Folded Sea,” house founder and creative director Bahareh Ardakani presented a meditation on the intricate geometry of sea urchins, reimagined through couture with scientific precision.
Sea urchins became her marine muse not only for their unique form, but because they help protect the ecosystem.
“There is such beautiful poetry in that,” she said. “And I tried to take the beauty of the structure, not only the meaning. They became a talisman.”
A trained engineer and gemologist, the Iranian-Swedish designer often looks to mathematics for her shapes, and this season that translated into origami-inspired smocking, exoskeleton-like pleating, and macramé inspired by sailor’s knots.
Silk chiffon sea urchins embellished with pearls were dotted at the hips or across the body for added texture. Each took four to six hours to craft — just one detail among many in a collection where some looks took up to 600 hours in Ardakani’s newly expanded atelier in Paris. Nineteen of the 26 looks were made completely in-house for the first time.
One standout was a black gown of circular guipure lace layered over silk organza printed with a microscopic motif derived from electron microscope imagery of an urchin’s skeleton. It took five months of R&D to perfect the slightly three-dimensional effect.
Elsewhere, accordion pleats mimicked the ribbed surfaces of fragile shells, while bioluminescent-inspired shimmer bathed the collection as if in dappled underwater light.
The precision she has developed since launching the house in 2022 was less rigid and overwrought this season, with a more natural ebb and flow as looks came down the runway.
Still, Ardakani is not afraid to experiment with challenging shapes. Unique silhouettes included a conical skirt that floated away from the body and a plated mini-cape that enveloped the form with almost sci-fi precision.
Creating the collection was both “melancholy” and “joyful” for Ardakani, as she continues to build her house on sustainable principles, which creates added challenges for a young brand.
Materials underscored that ethos: GOTS-certified cotton and silk, vintage textiles, and stainless steel-silk threads. This season also marked her debut in footwear, with two sculptural shapes — one with an inwardly curved comma heel — in soft pastels and black, all made in Italy.
“Every season, I’m trying to include something that I believe in,” she said.