ALL ABOUT HEAL

They met ten years ago, Alice Reydellet a 20-year-old fine art student and Hervé Koelich a 31-year-old photographer. Quickly falling in love, and starting work on fabric design for Christian Lacroix haute couture, the pair began a partnership that has gone from strength to strength. Fast forward 10 years and the French duo under the contraction Heal, are enjoying a well earned rest, following a hectic year culminating in the showing of their spring/summer 2010 collection at Paris Fashion Week.

The pair's clothes are a sharp blend of colour and structure, with bold palettes splashed onto architectural silhouettes. Comparisons to Christopher Kane and Hervé Leger have been drawn, thanks to the duo's love of body con design and a playful colour palette.

The couple's last collection included a dress decorated with a giant lobster, strangely pleasing on the woman's form. The piece's cut away panels and piped seams mimic the curves of a woman's shape, flattering the figure but losing none of its directional aim.

"For the s/s 2010 collection, we based our story on the Wes Anderson's movie The Life Aquatic, explains Heal. "We had a passion for the observation of the human anatomy that finally lead us to our actual shapes." Using organic materials, coupled with luxury fabrics, the pair are carving a niche, their clothes current and wearable but never betraying the pair's obsession to detail. "We are very inspired in our deep animal substance," adds Heal. "Our passion is in identifying the link between the structure of the human body, animals and the organic substance. Our style is always anatomic and architectural, combined with our own printed pictures or a work in volume on the fabric."

With a passion for sustainability the duo explain - "All kinds of industry have to respect the environment as well as the people they employ." - and with an inclination to the natural over man made, Heal use a variety of fabrics aimed to please the free, creative, open-minded woman they design for. "We love to use jerseys, knits, and fake fur for the winter collections," explains Heal. "We like fabrics we can wear easily; we like the concept of the dress you can roll in your suitcase, and wear immediately upon arrival."

Numerous blog entries about the Parisian based partnership suggest their popularity is only set to soar. "For the moment we want to concentrate on the development of our women's wear," explain Heal

Despite differences in the way they work - Hervé is more "straight" and "Bauhaus" due to his Nordic origins with Alice's style being more instinctive and surrealist, a highly effective and complementary creative force. "It is essential to us to imagine an atmosphere and write a story," they explain.