Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Argentine designers at the NY MB Fashion week


Inspired by Jorge Luis Borges, polo fields, the deserts of Salta, and nuns gardening, a group of top Argentine designers showed their collections at Mercedes-Benz NY Fashion week for the second year. We didn’t really know what to expect from this show, I thought it would have major Latin influence, very colorful like last year. But it was a very big surprise, each collection had their own style, but they all have a common point: elegance and softness dominated by black and white.
TOP LOOKS:
Marcelo Senra's voluminous white linen vest over a handcrafted raffia one paired with silver silk shorts; the intricate seams and tucking on Maria Pryor's white Swiss-dot frock; Pablo Ramirez's coated-cotton peplum jacket
ACCESSORIES: Gold pyramid-stud bracelets, exaggerated cloche hats, leather knee pads
WHO WAS THERE: The thousand-seat show had few faces we recognized but lots of stylish South Americans.
WHAT WE THOUGHT:
La Dolfina showed well-tailored separates inspired by polo (the sport, not the brand, though Ralph would have approved). The impeccable craftsmanship of both Laura Valenzuela and Maria Pryor's tucked and tied dresses recalled early Rodarte. Evangelina Bomparola's black-and-white eveningwear had a graphic elegance, if not a particularly innovative viewpoint.
But the standouts were Marcelo Senra's Missoni-esque prints and textural tribal separates, and the buttoned-up sexiness of Pablo Ramirez's dramatic tucked-waist and portrait-collar jackets (though the puritanical styling was distracting). Overall: impressive craftsmanship, innovative materials -- we loved Senra's use of raffia and woven reeds -- and a patented (no pun intended) Argentine commitment to leather. We expect to see more of these designers migrating north.









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