TRAMANDO
If there is something that characterizes Martin Churba, designer from Tramando, beside of his geniality in the experimentation of textiles, is for the incredible staging he achives on his runways to the point to amaze those who have the luck to assist to one. This season when i saw his name on the BAFWEEK program i marked it with a "definitely yes!". I assisted to the runway with high expectations, hoping to leave the show stimulated in every way. Was it like that?- probably yes, but not in the way i thought.
I entered the room waiting to find a great scenography but the only thing i found was a quite simple catwalk comparing to the character we were dealing with. The catwalk had these three black metal structures intertwined creating some kind of archs where the models go through while they would walk on some panels that i thought were made of black acrylic.
The music as it went by, was getting ever funnier and happier, which helped to feel strongly attracted for what was being presented. If there is something that i loved about this collection was the less conceptual style it had this season, every single piece shown was perfectly salable and wearable to the point that some people in the show were already wearing proudly some of his latest dresses. Something that highlighted in this collection, beside of the usual playful character that distinguishes this designer; were the loose sillouettes, giving so much movement and a smooth flow to the garments.
The models, styled with vibrant turquoise and orange eyeshadows and messy high buns, wore accesories such as handcrafted beaded and fabric necklaces, in diferent sizes twisted around their necks and even crossed on their chests. The shoes, for my disgrace, were the now "oh-so famous and cool" flatforms with colored soles and also some wooden wedges.
The textures, something in which Churba could be consider as a genius, make their way to fit in perfectly in this 100% commercial collection. The pleatings, leather, nets, gummed cotton had a strong presence along with the prints by sublimation, leopard in colors and monocrom and others that looked like splaretted paint.
The color palette had an explotion of bright tones as coral, orange, turquoise and purple, beside of the classics black, white and nude. Any must-have from the collection? Yes, the maxidresses, the jumpsuits and the assymetric tops!
EVANGELINA BOMPAROLA
I was about to commit a big mistake not attending the runway of this amazing designer, but thanks to the great advice from a colegue i got to be practicly in front row watching in my opinion, one of the best collections shown in the whole fashion week, if it definitely got to be, the best by far.
One of the thing i was most excited about was that when i entered the room i realized the show would be having live music, in this case "Poncho Total", a band from Dj Zucker which mixes electronic sound with rock.
If there's a word that describes this collection perfectly, it would be neatness. Every single piece were perfectly made and fitted.
The models were styled with a simple medium ponytail and a discret makeup that made them look with a nude face. The shoes, thse nude stilettos with a golden heel, cortesy from Ricky Sarkany, were just the p-e-r-f-e-c-t complement and made me suffer a slow but oh so pleasant death every time i saw then walk by on the feet of the models. As accesorie they worn a thin black leather chocker with a nickel silver buckle bathe in gold.
The colorblocking and the pop of color trends were the main characters in this collection, which was marked by the 70's retrofuturism, where despite of the straight and minimalist cuts of the garments a very femenine sillouette highlighted with textiles such as crepe georgette and natural silk organza.
The beautiful contrast of the nude and white with the vibrants colors of the orange, yellos and hot pink, made me practicly want to jump off my chair straight to the catwalk and take ( with permission or not) absolutely e-v-e-r-y garment shown. Even more when i saw the playful way the stripes and geometrical shapes were form by cuts in blazers, oxford pants, jumpsuits and tunics, which was a key piece in this collection. Three important details: very low cut backs, wide sleeves and cut-out shoulders.
The energy generated in the room thanks to the beauty of this collection in general and the power of the music of the runway was that big, it didn't matter that the audio failed at the end of the show and everything went into a sudden silence, because it was interrupted by the euphoric applause of everyone in there. Evangelina Bomparola did not need any music to end her runway, the literal ovation of the audience in my opinion was the perfect clousure. Bravo!
These two magnificent designers, Churba and Bomparola, are one of the many reasons i firmely believe in the originality and genius and the argentinean fashion industry and i insist that the eyes of the world should turn at least for a few second and see what is going on in this country.
