Olivier Saillard's Moda Povera performances at Triennale Milano

Olivier Saillard presented three performances under the title Carte Blanche at Triennale Milano, running parallel to the Ron Mueck exhibition. The performances took place shortly after Paris Haute Couture Week. Saillard's Moda Povera V: les vêtements de Renée featured model Axelle Doué, who for 45 minutes changed into 22 garments from Saillard's late mother's wardrobe, accompanied by poetic descriptions. Moda Povera VI: les vêtements des autres invited visitors to donate a personal garment, which ten models then wore, revitalizing the intimate bond between person and clothing. In Salon de Couture, model Violeta Sanchez, muse of Yves Saint Laurent and Helmut Newton, performed a silent runway describing fabrics and cuts of famous couturiers like Gaultier, Alaïa, Saint Laurent, and Mugler, without actual garments. Saillard, former director of Palais Galliera and current director of Fondation Azzedine Alaïa, began Moda Povera in 2018 with a pedagogical intent to transform simple garments using haute couture techniques. The performances contrast with the commercial nature of modern Haute Couture, which Saillard criticizes as marketing for cosmetics and jewelry. He stated: 'I preferred to counter the frenzy of fashion weeks with a few hours of performance celebrating the garment, free from commercial and consumerist perspectives.'