40,000 Madison bows later: Belgian craftsmanship at Paris Fashion Week
9,000 iconic Primadonna bows in one skirt. 70 hours of manual work. Madison’s first ever runway debut.
The story began earlier this year in the Primadonna archives, where Ester Manas found inspiration in over a century of Belgian lingerie heritage. What began as a bespoke look for the French actress Anaïde Rozam in Cannes went on to become Madison’s runway debut and the signature motif of Ester Manas’s Paris Fashion Week collection.
In Paris, Madison’s iconic codes came fully to life. Through the limited ‘See Now, Buy Now’ drop and the ‘Somehow I Manage’ show, Madison’s lace, iconic bows, as well as archive details from Primadonna’s most recognisable series found their way onto the catwalk. To achieve this, Ester Manas spent weeks in the Primadonna atelier in Schellebelle, collaborating closely with the pattern makers and seamstresses who eventually travelled to Paris to put the finishing touches to the looks backstage.
Repeated thousands of times, the iconic Madison bow was transformed from a recognisable lingerie detail into a material in its own right. More than 40,000 bows were incorporated throughout the collection, creating unexpected new textures. One skirt alone featured 9,000 bows and took 70 hours of manual work. Even the matching earrings were handcrafted from the Madison bow.
Tulle jackets were given knitted collars and cuffs made from the same bows, with 855 bows per collar and 600 per cuff. Archival pieces from Primadonna, in turn, formed the basis for the bodysuits, reworked through Ester Manas’s distinctive design language, whilst Madison’s lace found its way into the taffeta dresses. The result? Lingerie codes translated into fashion-forward designs that bring together style, inclusivity and wearability.
The Ester Manas × Primadonna House collaboration was only the first chapter. Amidst archive pieces, prototypes and runway looks, it became clear what connects the two brands: the belief that fashion should adapt to women, never the other way round. The next step: a fully collaborative AW27 collection. Stay tuned.
Press images of the Ester Manas show at Paris Fashion Week, the runway looks and the Ester Manas × Primadonna House collection are available on request.
Sarah Sanders
