Every major designer has an iconic piece they create that says with them throughout their career and becomes the embodiment of their label: Diane Von Furstenberg has the wrap dress, Yves Saint Laurent created the women’s tuxedo and Max Azria for Hervé Leger is the champion of the sexy, skimpy and sleek bandage dress. 

For Fall/Winter 2009, Max found his inspiration in an urban jungle—one full of snakeskin, velvet and strong, boxy shoulders that recalled a shoulder’s uniform.  Indeed, the famous bandage dress is in a sense itself a form of armor—a sexy staple that gives any girl enough confidence and power to brave even the longest of red carpet step and repeats. 

The exotic prints and elongated form gave the body a serpentine and almost sinfully seductive appearance where the hips beckoned “come hither,” only to be counteracted by the imperious boxy shoulders.  The show literally knocked people off their feet with an astonishing four models tumbling on the runway due to the sky-high heels.  Nonetheless, we’re sure to see many a young, lithe starlet slithering on and off the red carpet in Hervé Leger for years to come. 

Adrien Field

Images courtesy of Mercedez-Benz Fashion Week.

Watch the designer interview.

Watch the runway video.