Story by Editor-at-Large CAROLINA OGLIARO
Red Moon Rising: Marine Serre’s Fall/Winter 2025 Collection Blurs Reality
In the dimly lit halls of La Monnaie de Paris, where history echoes in every shadow, Marine Serre staged a spectacle that was both hypnotic and defiant. Nothing was as it seemed, and yet, everything was precisely as it was meant to be. This was fashion as an illusion, as alchemy, where money lost its value, time folded in on itself, and garments became portals to parallel realities.
At 30, Serre stands at the precipice of a new era, both for herself and for the brand she has meticulously built. Seven years since her debut, she has entered a phase of unapologetic maturity, sharpening her vision into something undeniably potent. The result? A collection that pulses with danger and desire, merging eco-futurism with the haunting sensuality of a femme fatale who walks between worlds.
Illusion, Power, and the Femme Fatale Reborn
The show opened with a masked figure, a sleek, moon-tattooed catsuit sculpted like a second skin. It was Irma Vep reborn, a modern-day specter who moves through history, bending light and perception in her wake. Then came the coats: trench coats deconstructed into layered illusions, a puffer so grand it paid tribute to André Leon Talley, its rippling form reminiscent of a throne.
Leather ruled the night, upcycled from biker pants, imbued with the ghosts of speed and rebellion. A futuristic midi dress, shoulders sharp enough to cut through illusion, balanced between dominion and seduction. The femme fatale of the 50s and 80s whispered in the cinched waists and sharp tailoring, but Serre’s woman is not nostalgia, she is an apparition of the future.
Blood-red velvet pulsed through the collection like a heartbeat, sensual, raw, commanding. The carmine tracksuit, tailored for the red carpet, turned sportswear into eveningwear, defying convention. Red mesh and satin clung to the body like whispered secrets. The entire palette played in extremes: stark whites to abyssal blacks, with color appearing only where passion surged.
And then, there was The Red Room.
A Fashion Lynchian Dream: Entering the Red Room
Serre’s mind wandered deep into David Lynch’s surrealist universe, crafting a collection that played with duality—reality and illusion, softness and armor, wealth and worthlessness. The Twin Peaks reference was unmistakable: the show felt like stepping into the Red Room, where time is distorted, and nothing is quite what it appears to be. The zigzagging lines of Lynch’s cult space found their echoes in the interplay of textures, recycled nylon mimicking leather, lingerie prints masquerading as real underpinnings, a moonlit embroidery hidden in the folds of a coat.
A signature Marine Serre trompe-l’œil technique ran throughout the collection, turning perception into a game of deception. A night dress was encapsulated into something new, shadow and fabric intertwined to create something beyond mere clothing. Even the invitation, a gold coin stamped with the Moon and Serre’s own profile—l, was no mere token of exchange. It was a talisman, a statement: This is not about money. This is about power.
Eco-Archeology: Fashion as Rebellion Against Time
Beyond the enigma, a deeper message pulsated through Serre’s work: fashion as resistance. Upcycling wasn’t just a method here; it was a manifesto. Ten couture pieces reclaimed forgotten relics, coins, medals, and antique watches—transforming them into garments that told stories of past and future.
Like an archaeologist sifting through lost civilizations, Serre dug through fashion’s own discarded remnants, giving them a new purpose. Watch straps wove their way into gowns, posing the ultimate question in a temple of currency: What holds more value: time or money? Fur, long stripped of its wildness, was reclaimed and recontextualized. Here, upcycling wasn’t about sustainability alone, it was about memory, history, and the ghosts embedded in every fiber.
Accessories played into the theme of transformation:
– The AURORA Bag – A timeless structure infused with Serre’s signature codes, seamlessly balancing past and future.
– MS CRUSH Boots and Pumps – The ultimate femme fatale footwear, a stretch-leather second skin reimagined as an object of power.
– Heads or Tails Jewelry – The invitation itself became wearable art: gold-engraved talismans of the Moon and Serre’s profile, a symbol of fate and fortune entwined.
A Finale That Left the Air Heavy with Mystery
As the show reached its crescendo, Para One’s score unfolded in a hypnotic rhythm, weaving together echoes of Badalamenti’s eerie compositions. Serre’s voice, like a spectral whisper, reverberated through the hall, shaping an atmosphere that felt less like a fashion show and more like a ritual.
The final looks commanded attention, structured yet fluid, radical yet romantic. It was a vision of power that didn’t conform, a beauty that didn’t need to be soft to be seductive. Marine Serre is creating worlds.
In a city obsessed with grandeur and spectacle, Serre’s Fall/Winter 2025 collection bewitched, and as the guests left, clutching their gold coins like artifacts from another realm, one question lingered in the air:
Was it real? Or had we all just stepped into a dream?
