It is safe to say that Kris Goyri’s clothes are not made for doing the dishes or slouching to the dairy – unless your dairy happens to be on Rodeo Drive or a Bahamian beachfront. But utility has never been the preserve of luxury, and Goyri’s designs have never pretended to offer anything other than pure luxury.
Born and educated in Mexico City, the designer’s name has slipped largely under the radar in our corner of the world, a natural consequence of New Zealand’s small fashion market and lagging interest in all but the most established names. Regardless, for the past 13 years Goyri has attracted attention where it matters, in the pages of magazines, on the racks of upmarket boutiques, and on the backs of red carpet bound stars. Goyri’s success began in 2008 when, aged just 22, he was awarded the prize for new Mexican talent by ELLE magazine – an unimaginable distinction for a designer in their first year out of fashion school. In 2009, Goyri completed a master’s degree at the Instituto Europeo di Design in Barcelona, expanding his prodigious talents to include footwear and accessory design, and distilling the language of his brand.
Goyri has attracted attention where it matters, in the pages of magazines, on the racks of upmarket boutiques, and on the backs of red carpet bound stars.
That language is foremost luxurious, but it is not the diluted kind of luxury that has hijacked the big European houses over the past decade, the kind that hawks logo-splattered cotton tees for $600 and expects customers to say thank you for the privilege of wearing them. Goyri’s luxury is old school – not quite couture, but about as close as you can get without a private appointment in Paris. His silhouettes are full, elegant, and unashamedly feminine: plunging necklines and just-daring-enough side slits punctuate the shimmering drape of evening gowns and glistening silk jumpsuits rendered in tones of deep amber, emerald and azure.
Halter necks and shoulderless bodices with billowing, set-in sleeves evoke feelings of antiquarian splendour, and with dresses starting at US$1,600, the connotations of ancient royalty might be an accurate reflection of Goyri’s customer base. Even in a world of readily accessible luxury, these are clothes that necessitate a lifestyle that revolves around either the red carpet or the Riviera. In Goyri’s world, sun dresses, jeans and casual tailoring do not exist: there is only chiffon with sweeping hems, sheer, multicoloured maxi skirts in silk crepe, and tailored statement suits that are surely not cut for the workplace.
Goyri may never design for the everyday, or even the average person, but at a time when high end fashion is increasingly swayed by the popular dollar, maybe that isn’t such a bad thing. With that said, it is difficult to look at Goyri’s work and not feel a little uncomfortable with the lavishness of it all, with its price tags and endless metres of silk, and the escapism it all represents. When so much of our world has been disrupted and destroyed – emotionally, financially and environmentally – over the past two years, it is easy to dismiss what Goyri creates as frivolous, unnecessary and out of step with the world at large. Then again, perhaps it is unproductive, pointless even, to expect a solution to the world’s problems or salvation for the destitute from a man that makes expensive dresses. Goyri’s clothes were never, even in the now distant pre-Covid times, meant to be anything other than a sumptuous exercise in sophistication, made for people whose whole lifestyles are out of step with the wider human experience – and that’s fine. The world needs solutions, but these are not going to come from people who send yards of silk swishing down the red carpet. If that’s what is needed, look no further than Kris Goyri.
WORDS – Nick Ainge-Roy
PHOTOGRAPHY – Karla Lisker
@karlalisker
