September leaves behind the balance of the first Spanish virtual catwalks, held in Madrid and Barcelona in a linked way. Despite becoming digital platforms, the presentation format of a collection remains practically intact: through a catwalk show, adapted to the new times. Gratacós has been following each one of the presentations and, as always, we have managed to identify some of our seasonal fabrics in the original garments presented by the designers who support us. Once again, thank you for your trust!
Dominnico embraces science fiction
If there is something that Dominnico has, it is that, in a short time, he has managed to create an identifiable style, aesthetic codes and his own language on and off the catwalks. And it is not easy at all with the times we are living in. The brand Domingo Rodríguez Lázaro exhibited his credentials in the last edition of the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Madrid. How? Embracing the retrofuturist aesthetic, his taste for the Bauhaus art movement, pop culture, and manga. Now, Dominnico has taken science fiction as a reference to devise the woman of the future. Thus, in UHURA, the collection for next summer, the Alicante designer has drawn through his enigmatic designs a space traveler, empowered and fighter, technological and romantic. The eccentric Leeloo from The Fifth Element; the stylish officer Nyota Uhura from Star Trek; the sexy Vanessa Kensington from Austin Power or the exotic Nina Williams and Ling Xiaoyu , Manga muses from Tekken par excellence, are some of the characters that emerge in the creator’s imagination.
The colour of the new collection travels between watercolor tones such as water green , storm blue, lilac and pastel yellow or other more earthy tones such as tile; the brand’s characteristic holographic bright colours, without forgetting black and white passing to more resounding ones such as red and orange. In terms of materials, guipure plays a leading role in this new proposal, deconstructed and mixed with leather with laminated textures and fur, introducing lamé, sequins, elastic crepe and fringed lurex. Do you recognize any of our fabrics?
Katherine Hepburn inspires Angel Schlesser
Angel Schlesser, under the creative baton of Juan Carlos Mesa since June, was inspired by the actress Katherine Hepburn as an icon of contemporary, independent, personality and risky women. An actress who, during her professional career of more than six decades, maintained her own style that moved perfectly in ambiguity: she defied the masculine and feminine codes, being equal to or more modern than contemporary actresses. A series of virtues that represent Angel Schlesser’s urban and cosmopolitan woman, who always lives in the present with one foot in the future and without renouncing her past.
The lines of the collection are simple, of great purity in the cut and in the finishes. Fluid silhouettes, designed for comfort without restricting movement. Garments such as shirt dresses, cape skirts, narrow, straight, wide trousers, trouser-skirts; trench coats , kaftans , short and long evening dresses. A whole series of garments to give women freedom and not limit their choice with a wide range of fabrics and noble materials to cover all needs, cotton poplin and voile, linen, silk twill and satin, jaquards and printed sequins, metallic and lame effects. Juan Carlos Mesa does not set limits to honour the Schlesser woman.
Brain & Beast celebrates 10 years of transgressive fashion
The irreverent signature of Ángel Vilda turns 10 years old and has celebrated it again on the catwalks, doing a double in Madrid and later, in Barcelona. At Brain&Beast nothing is what it seems at first glance and behind each collection of deconstructed garments, printed t-shirts, layer-by-layer looks and a mix of colours, fabrics, reliefs and prints, there is always an easily recognizable identity and a hidden message, an intentionality and this is ambiguous because if something characterizes Vilda’s signature is the game, the double meanings and the fun that later invites reflection. The rogue fashion that stirs consciences. In fact, Angel Vilda first builds stories and those stories are translated into clothes. Then, those clothes end up in the wardrobe of other people who in turn interpret new stories, dressed in those unique clothes.
On this occasion, Brain & Beast presented in Madrid the ‘Dogma’ collection for next spring-summer 2021. A new proposal that combines a new philosophical doctrine that serves as a starting point to present genderless garments on the catwalk that rightly combine emotion with models that represent a display of diversity: professional mannequins with friends of Angel himself are the best ambassadors of these fresh and carefree collections designed for an unprejudiced public. In Barcelona, Brain & Beast prepared a whole show to celebrate this first decade by displaying those closest to them in a great party with bizarre hues. Like it or not, Brain & Beast is just like that, unconventional.
Menchén Tomàs pays tribute to light in a brilliant proposal
Menchén Tomàs, led by Olga Menchén, kicked off the last edition of 080 Barcelona Fashion with a splendid collection to honor her 25 years of know-how. As usual, the proposal focused on the festive universe with a catwalk show dominated by dresses and sets of two pieces that suggest sensuality and elegance in each movement. Silhouettes of refined cuts, delicate and silky fabrics, pure colours and a palette inspired by the tones of the sunset make up the collection called ‘Reflexos’.
Mans, between ready-to-wear and bespoke tailoring
Mans is one of the most interesting Spanish menswear firms in the country. Creative director, Jaime Alvarez has managed to build a powerful brand identity moving between the ready-to-wear and made to measure tailoring. In fact, Mans’s goal is clear: to offer a complete hybrid wardrobe with quality, versatile basic garments and a progressive design, focused on self-confident people who know what they are looking for in fashion.
The garments of the new spring-summer 2021 collection are inspired by the colors, silhouettes and above all by the attitude of the characters portrayed in them, which are rescued from the photographic work of Slim Aarons . In this new proposal, an inventive line can be identified in the collection and its patterns, based on the bucolic multiculturalism that Aarons expressed in his images. Robes and tuxedos that transport us to the parties portrayed by the American photographer in which we are presented with an idealized society, according to the environment of the location. From Capri to Palm Springs, passing through the gardens of Marrakech. This reality portrayed in the images has been represented by the use of the brand’s own prints, where nude silhouettes and more abstract prints make a parallel between the idealization of the works and the anatomy of the body and nature.
ONRUSHW23FH debuts on the Catalan catwalk
The young designers Albert Sánchez and Sebastián Cameras, aged 24 and 22, are the creators of ONRUSHW23FH, one of the debuting firms at the last edition of 080 Barcelona Fashion. A brand that is part of their final degree project and that consisted of the creation of a collection presented in 2019, later being consolidated in the current project. In fact, the Sánchez and Cameras tandem already had our fabrics in their project and now, in their premiere at 080, they have counted on us again.
ONRUSHW23FH presented the collection ‘ Almost There ‘ with a reflection in the background at the Sant Pau Modernista Campus. In fact, the designers started from the idea of a liquid society and the immediacy that it implies developed by the sociologist Zygmunt Bauman to base a collection that is inspired by the movement caused by doing things quickly. A utopia that brings the dynamism, wrinkles and simplicity of chaos that are part of this proposal. Among his designs, we find a rich visual imagery that reveals the immediacy and agitation of arriving at your destination at all costs. Garments that are twisted, overlapped or with silhouettes completely displaced from their centers are created from a novel process that mixes 3D prototypes of toile on the mannequin. A technique that allows you to make a selection that is later digitally transformed to achieve more interesting volumes. The result is a timeless and genderless collection that works as a satirical portrait of the concept of haste that marks us as individuals.
