Samantha Gordon

Confinement is an idea with which I am well acquainted. Around the time I started high school, anxiety began to creep into my life. It manifests when I am in tight spaces, or places I am unable to get myself out of. It dampens my life in small, inconvenient ways, but I have chosen to channel it into an area I know best, my designs. For Belle  poque, I relied on the idea of confinement, and looked to the Victorian and Edwardian eras for inspiration. Influenced by cinching corsets, high necklines, and long sleeves, I designed the pieces in my collection so the models would feel restricted around their chests and throats—places where I, too, feel pressure when anxious. Working with an array of fabrics, from hammered silks to lambskin leather, the collection draws from the idea that luxury should come from solely natural materials. I intentionally worked only with pure, natural fibers—cottons, silks, and wools—without manufactured fibers or blends.

Belle  poque delivers sophistication and streamlined design that lets the beauty of the textile speak for itself.