Boussoles air du temps Woodland cocoons Bathed in the waters of the Scottish Borders, Barrie has been knitting its cashmere since 1903. The winter collection modernizes knitwear with pop art patterns inspired by nature. No matter what they say, on a cream-colored cardi- knitwear is indelibly gan; stripes of saffron associated with child’s and black are set against play and childhood. It fuchsia and teal. curls and purls, plays And talk about character: with rib, garter and cable Barrie, a satellite com- stitches, trips up then falls pany of the Chanel group into line, unravels, is nee- (part of Chanel subsid- dled, folds over, expands. iary Paraffection’s inde- It has a tautness and ten- pendent ateliers operating sion that take on chival- under one roof and rousovertones— synony- owned by the house), has mous with protection, plenty of it. Its renditions with the doublet created of landscape-inspired by the constant clicking of metal needles—as well as the look sweaters should be viewed as a kind of mood-of-the-day look. of near-milky softness as supple as can be, totally for This winter’s style embodies a heightened tenderness, its pop the self, and no one else. Creating knitwear means taking art heart hoisted high like a banner. But it could also be an yourself to another place, either center stage or in the wings imaginary trip or fantasy journey, created using intarsia (the of fashion, quietly blazing your own trail with the motifs are produced by overlapping forms), where mountains confidence of a star. blush beneath a deep purple sunset and roads run infinitely When it comes to cashmere, knitwear grows more complex. green. When it was founded in 1903, the manufacturer pro- It’s certainly a material, yet dreams of being a cocoon, categor-duced underwear and stockings, before making military attire ically spurning second-fiddle status. At least this is what Barrieduring World War I. It then turned to Mongolian cashmere, Knitwear of Scotland claims with its cashmere sweaters spun in the clear waters of Loch Leven and washed in the steeped in the autumn shades of the Scottish Borders and its limpid River Teviot. Rough at first, then waxing tender. In undergrowth (chestnut, hazelnut, bronze, misty gray, pine 2012, Chanel, a customer for 25 years, acquired the company green) and covered with reliefs, frescoes, friezes and jacquard to safeguard its expertise. Its collections, now washed in the patterns, transforming the bust into a figurative manifesto. The fashionable spirit of Rue Cambon, continue to push back the collections are also thematic, like a series of narratives. An boundaries of technical possibilities, while preserving the English garden, inspired by William Morris, reinvented, exces- plant-like suppleness that merges with the body’s movement. sively large, swept with pumpkin foliage, a thistle concealed in Chill loses its edge, even stones could melt. If knitwear were its interlacing; Aeolian flowers create a rosy pastel asymmetry child’s play, they’d be tumbling about in bucolic wilds. Cardigan et pull New Delft sur pantalon Romantic uni. New Delft cardigan and top over Romantic uni pants. 72 eirraB ©