The Ugly, the Dirty, and the Rich
When the Venetian masks for the freakishly members-only club à la Eyes Wide Shut are left at home, its attendees roam freely amongst the commons, untethered by morals, hungry of power. The archetype of the filthy rich or their affiliated figures (think ambiguous cult members in dark cloaks; unsure whether they’re into trafficking too or they’re plotting a vendetta against the powerful) become the protagonists of Matières Fécales’ FW26 show titled “The One Percent”. The duo of Hannah Rose Dalton and Steven Raj Bhaskaran make their models wallow in some presumptuous glory, rhyming with a feeling of omnipotence that comes with a staggering inheritance.
Taking place in Palais Brongniard – the stock exchange building commissioned by Napoleon (pretty fitting for the ceremony) – the caricatured protagonists come out archetype by archetype. Opening up are the grotesquely posh clutching their pearls and prancing in pleated skirts, tucking on their old-money blazers. Ferocious duos are also brought out from men with a hairline (also) running away from them to the Shining-like twin freaks (but make them spoiled). Bouffant frayed gowns are followed by a Mr. Monopoly suit, a chunky knitted half wool-half dollar puffer jacket, and the cryptic cult members in their black jersey robes.
Faces are marked by greed and vanity. Where an eye is bruised up after a punchy argument about who gets the biggest share out of daddy’s hotel, others are surgically stretched out, covered in post-op essentials. In a kindred spirit with the surgery-obsessed, Alexis Stone slips into the skin of a feline-like wealthy socialite with a raging nip and tuck addiction. Notable accessories feature the likes of opera gloves screaming the idiom “to have blood on their hands,” with the crimson splattered on the palms. (One) dollar bills masks are the lens the world is seen in, and pearls can also be used for some BDSM activities (we trust you can use your imagination).
The final archetype is rather more neutral and closer to the Matières Fécales recognisable universe of pointed-shouldered blazers and flesh heels. And yet, though what seems like some comic relief from the scary wealthy that just marched out, an ironic contrast hits: the adored Michèle Lamy (who’s still beating cult allegations) is followed by the runway debut of entrepreneur and eternal youth pursuer Bryan Johnson. Lamy revels in the natural process of aging, and Johnson went viral for his obsession with immortality. We wonder whether he’s aware of what’s happening on the runway.
Alas, Matières Fécales truly staged the most terrifying actors of our current times.
Words by Lora Lolev
Images courtesy of Matières Fécales
