Time has flown by so fast, summer has slipped by and the rain does not stop falling. Autumn seems to be firmly on its way and that can only mean one thing: the beginning of Cibeles Madrid Fashion Week. Coinciding with the London and Mumbai Fashion Weeks, Madrid seems to garner less attention on an international level. At a national level, it is the most important fashion week in Spain, with Valencia now being tagged as second. That leaves Barcelona at a miserly third position. Something must be done to remedy this situation, but for now, all (Spanish) eyes are on the capital.
A quirky detail of this 52nd edition of Cibeles Madrid Fashion Week, is the official sponsorship by Burger King of El Ego, the emerging designers catwalk that kicks off the proceedings. How a fast food restaurant chain, renown for it’s greasy, cheesy burgers, can be mixed with fashion, glamour and the eternal questioning of model weight, is beyond me. El Ego is the edgier, more risky, avant-guard little sister of the main fashion week in Madrid. But unfortunately, this time around things seem to be much tamer, with a lower level of real talent when compared to last season’s event.
Beba's Closet - image.net
Beba’s Closet by Belén Barbero, was the first designer to show her collection upon the Ego catwalk yesterday. Titled “L’île”, this is a collection inspired by sweet summers, biking with the breeze flowing through one’s hair, ice-cream hues, the salty sea air, the damp earth and grass. A feeling of carelessness combined with a rustic air. Blending naif elements with more lady-like qualities, the garments are constructed from linens and silk raffias and crepes. Lacquered and wooden buttons, vintage braiding and rope details lend a sensation of times gone by. Very pretty and beautiful in theory, the reality was just slightly off. Something was just a little off the mark compared to Barbero’s usually exquisite work and was a bit of a let down. The water-bottle style hats were not bringing anything good to the ensembles.
Bohento - image.net
Cuca Ferrá’s Bohento collection was titled “La Marché” and there was no doubt about the market atmosphere that she infused into her show. The models, both male and female carried wicker shopping baskets, vegetables, fruit and other market/food related items. Blending two of the basic human needs such as food and clothes to cover oneself, her collection staked out a clean and neat colour palette. Each of her garments would happily join forces with in any real wardrobe. The two huge curlers that many of the models sported added that “I just ran out for bread” feeling and also doubled as hair adornments.
Cati Serra - image.net
Cati Serrá’s organic, fluid garments were a sight to behold. Inspired by the sea, she reinterprets the smallest life forms with her tissue-paper fine knits. There is a sweetness that is not sticky, the models looked divine with their nude makeup and messy up-does. Her choice of fabrics flow over the body, offering a myriad solutions to body woes.
American Peréz - image.net
While in general there seems to be a turn towards dressing a more mature woman, here at El Ego, the focus seemed to be very much on a young, teenage Lolita. Slightly disconcerting when international designers seem to have finally gotten the message, (at least for the moment), that those who can really afford to buy their clothes are well over the age of 25. American Perez, comprised by the duo Natalia Peréz and Jorge Bolado Moo, took great pleasure in once again affixing the teenage nymph on the proverbial pedestal. Titled “Shells and Girls”, once again the sea was the grand inspiration. Playing with the idea that girls are delicate as flowers but hard as clams, their luxury casual garments are revamped and pulled up several notches. Referring to their girls as Halstonettes, they played with classic colour combinations to great effect. Slightly eccentric, slightly young cheerleader, bits of vintage and lashings of the 70s, this was the best Lolita proposal of the day.
Maya Hansen - image.net
Maya Hansen’s collection, “Lace Wings: Delicate Birds”, was by far my favourite collection so far. This is Barbie as a corseted superwoman, a superhero with crazy powers. All manner of birds are cited as her inspiration, the lightness of flight, the airiness. The beehives are huge, as well as the sunglasses. The gloves are long, elbow-length and the corset pour each of the models’ body into an hourglass shape from which layers of cloudy-transparent fabrics cascade making for endless movement.
Others that showed their collections were Diana Dorado, Esther Lebrato, Lluis Corujo, Cruz Castillo and Maria Ke Fisherman. Today is Day 1 of the main Cibeles Fashion Week, so there will be many more proposals to scrutinize and see what trends will be recurrent.
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