Manémané is the signature of Miguel Becer, one of the most special creators in Spanish fashion. The word designer falls short to talk about this artist who works without borders, without labels, without fear. We have been praising his way of reinterpreting and revising the crafts and folklore of northern Cáceres for years, and at the same time celebrating his groundbreaking and avant-garde talent.
This show is perhaps the best of his career. It has been a long time since he presented a collection in Madrid and that void he left has been filled today with an unexpected collection. “It is very connected to the previous ones, which I have presented in other types of formats and on other catwalks, it is a continuation, It carries all my codes, from urban to folklore, but at the same time I break with them“.
The transformation it makes is based on lightness, on lightening the garments. To do this, subtract, eliminate, cut, remove, alter… “You see garments that have no backs, the linings become the outer part and there are looks that look like two pieces but it is only one, with the top part supporting the weight of the bottom part.”
There is intelligent tailoring and shirting work, traditional pieces that, when passed through their workshop, become different ones. “Always looking for the surprise.” Her fashion is based on a different way of understanding fashion, sewing, dressing. Even his look at folklore is different. A Cáceres shawl transforms into a tiny miniskirt. The classic striped polo shirts are boldly cut out and the remains are made with rosettes and ribbons to decorate them.
Prints go well with plain ones, frayed ones with perfectly cut garments, The colors burst strongly into the collection, in which we see nods to sports aesthetics and sewing.. A silver sequin dress goes over a purple t-shirt, forming a vibrant clash of texture and color.
MANÉMANÉ COLLECTION:
Design by ManéMané EFE
Design by ManéMané EFE
Design by ManéMané
Ernesto Naranjo
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Ernesto Naranjo is one of the geniuses of Spanish sewing. He took his first steps on EGO, the young talent platform that turns 20 years old and the couturier celebrates by returning to the official MBFWM calendar. It closes a circle, and this gives meaning and shape to the collection. “In that collection, 2014, there were circles and now I’m wearing them again in this collection. Circular shapes are always very present, but now they are integrated into the garments.”
The collage technique is also present, and there is no shortage of items from the house. “The showgirls, the color, the artist Ángela Cruz, the Gutai Movement, the gestural…”. He has one of the most envied resumes in the sector: he has worked with John Galliano at Margiela and has been in the Balmain workshops.
These experiences have made his creative universe grow and his work expands along unusual and risky paths. Three-dimensional patterns are a constant in their collections and are not lacking in this one. “I like to repeat, rescue and maintain the message to reinforce the brand,” he says in front of his garments, which form his 16th collection.
Naranjo usually uses a single pattern, but now he plays with the pieces separately. There are tops, skirts, coats, pants, everything matches and everything contrasts. Everything contributes. The looks look clean, there is nothing left over in them, and it avoids overlapping to focus all the attention on each of the garments.
Nylon, taffeta, elastic tulle and wool make up its flag of textures and with them jIt creates new shapes, sometimes with a stroke of the needle and other times through the action of the model, through her gestures.. Model and dress are a whole. Everything so wonderful that it deserves a standing ovation.
ERNESTO NARANJO COLLECTION:
Design by Ernesto Naranjo EFE
Design by Ernesto Naranjo EFE
Design by Ernesto Naranjo EFE
Mans
Another of the most celebrated returns is the Jaime Álvarez, creative director of Mans, one of the most powerful and desired brands of the moment. His land, Seville, and his family, specifically his grandfather Emilio, are the strongest presences in his collection, which takes references from Van Gogh’s flowers and the greats of couture, especially Cristóbal Balenciaga. “He had an obsession with backs and that is what I have worked on, creating special volumes that transform the garments.” It should be said that this time it focuses on men’s fashion, although in its creative universe there are no labels or barriers.
Let’s go in parts. The parade begins with a band from the Sevillian Holy Week and the models come out onto the catwalk, all imposing, with clothes so well made that they seem sculpted.. Their ‘Nazarenes’ wear high-waisted, slim and elegant pants, and some have a simple gathered ruffle at the waist. “It’s a nod to Ungaro, and above all a way to question the pattern.” On them we also see some sashes that are works of art: handmade ‘Japanese’ air pieces with appealing color mixes (yellow and purple, green and nude, turquoise and lilac) and trimmings details made in the legendary Casa Rodríguez. Equally beautiful are the tailcoat vests in two shades of wild silk: green with vanilla and egg or green with purple, of course, Nazarene.
The robe that Cristóbal Balenciaga and Emanuel Ungaro, who was his disciple, always wore, is similar to the one worn by the designer’s grandfather, who was a pharmacist.and Jaime turns it into a superb coat with a pleated back. But there are more family memories: grandfather’s cardigan is now made with two striped colors (peach and vanilla or navy and green), and he has even hung the watch he wore from one of his pants, which dialogues with the brooches that dot the collection, which belonged to his grandmother.
HOh, very elegant striped shirts, perfect for the aesthetic rage. dadcore, and other more classic, or neoclassical looks: Mans uses a blue suit with a white shirt but he takes it to his field and each piece acquires another identity. The nods to religious aesthetics are appreciated, always with respect, both in the Nazarene-tinted pieces and in the skirt that is placed over pants, a look that gives an ecclesiastical reading.
There is a jacket with a ‘Balenciaga’ back that takes your breath away, it is as simple as it is captivating, just like the jacket inspired by Getaria’s master, as regal as it is elegant.. The entire collection is framed in a new luxury, in excellence, in good craftsmanship. “I always base myself on the fabric and the pattern making, it is what I take the most care of,” he says, proud of this work. “It’s the most sentimental thing I’ve ever done, it’s my most emotional collection.” And it excites us.
MANS COLLECTION:
Mans design EFE
Mans design EFE
Mans design EFE
Baro Lucas
“Deafness is a very important part of my personal life and this collection is articulated around my life experiences,” says Baro Lucas. The ‘110 dB’ collection helps you reveal your emotions. “It is the threshold of my hearing, below this I do not hear. But I do not want to talk about complexes, on the contrary, I want to express with the collection what the different moments of my day to day are like, depending on whether or not I am wearing the hearing aid. And that is why all the models have hearing aids, as if it were another accessory, like glasses.” The parade begins with a white dress, which represents the nothingness that surrounds her when she takes off her hearing aid, but then powerful reds enter that seem to break her speech. But not. “I have been inspired by La Singla, the flamenco dancer who was deaf and managed to have a brilliant career. She is for me an example of improvement.”
The collection navigates between extremes, from light to darkness through that disturbing red. “I want the colors to ring.” The sewing of Baro Lucas, applauded for his two previous collections, is now overshadowed by the complexity of the narrative discourse and the anatomy of the dresses, which are full of organic style cuts and shapes: elements inspired by ears. We miss its refinement, its cleanliness in the pattern and its approach to that desirable minimalism. Highlights include a fun trench coat in an eggplant tone and the simple gray dress with ribs that decorate the chest. But there is too much aesthetic noise. Although, wasn’t this what the designer wanted to show?
The collection has different layers, accepts different readings and there are several ways to approach it. And all valid. Baro Lucas has had a powerful front row, full of well-known faces who have applauded its collection and, above all, its work in the women’s line. The man from Valladolid is almost a newcomer to this very difficult place that is Madrid and he has a long way to go to prove that he is a good tailor, an excellent dressmaker and a brave worker with a lot of ability to excel.
BARO LUCAS COLLECTION:
Design by Baro Lucas EFE
Design by Baro Lucas EFE
Design by Baro Lucas efe
Juan Carlos Pajares
Once again we return to the EGO celebration. In this case because Juan Carlos Pajares celebrates a decade of fashion that started there. In this time he has grown as a creator and has managed to create his own style. His new collection is another leap in his career, perhaps the highest he has taken. The flower is the axis on which his proposal revolves and symbolizes the rebirth that the couturier feels. We see flowers like brooches that grow from a lapel, three-dimensional flowers that form a miniskirt, a flower that embellishes the strap of a dress and patterns of generous volumes that are reminiscent of flowers.
We don’t see them printed, because he has opted for a checkered print, “a bit 2000s,” he says. They are handmade and craftsmanship is very present in the collection. The parade begins with a ceramic corset that required a slow manufacturing process. A skirt ends in a hoop made in a frame. There are ceramic jewelry that looks like metal and brooches that are actually silver. The silks are dyed by hand and the bobbin lace stands out, an element used for the first time, and the Mongolian goat hair. Highlights include a trompe l’oeil of belts as a dress and the tuxedo, a piece that she also made for the first time.
The entire collection plays on contrast: symmetries and asymmetries, very short shorts and long ones in place, straight lines and simple volumes, matte pieces and slight transparencies in others. The most relevant thing is the opposite, the coexistence of disparate elements: tradition and craftsmanship go hand in hand with avant-garde and innovation. The blues – the symbol of the house – start the pace and are followed by black, browns, denim, pistachio green and white. Pajares plays with patterns and launches double and triple shoulder pads, corsets with and without sleeves, gatherings and draping that provide elasticity and an interesting dialogue of garments or cocktail pieces with sports codes. Wool, silk, sequins, lycra and tulle are mixed with fur, silk organza and latex vinyl with which she makes a party dress and a jacket full of vertical zippers.
JCPAJARES COLLECTION
Design by JCPajares EFE
Design by JCPajares EFE
Design by JCPajares EFE
Acromatyx
Xavi García and Franx de Cristal want to break with what is established, what was marked at birth. They turn to gender identity and focus on individuality over the collective, on being versus belonging. The concept of free love is transferred to the free genre, without distortion. And here it is at the core of their collection, the gravitational axis on which their garments, designed for them, rotate. His talent with tailoring can be seen in the suits with straight lines, softened with pulse and determination. To the side we see tight silhouettes, which hug the body in some parts and come off in others. The focus of attention is placed on the hip, with balloon volumes that distort that part of the body, creating powerful figures.
The two creatives debut with corsetry, without gender. “It has been a challenge to work on it, due to the complexity of the fabrics we have used, such as nylon, PVC and wool, which are not those that are usually used,” reveal. There is a lot of black, an icon of the house, and some whites that provide a touch of light. In contrast we see a giant Prince of Wales and even a green and blue plaid tartan that they use for a total look of jacket, pants, shirt and tie. Everything fits, everything can be transformed! Pieces such as the tailcoat, completely brought to their field, and the recycling work they have done with some biker pants that are now wonderful little shorts draw attention.
They have really enjoyed crumpling the fabrics, to achieve very textured pieces, and also making ‘leather’ pieces, made with cotton on which a layer of vinyl rests.. The result is incredible! They proudly show off all their looks, like the suit with a jacket that shows the cuff of a non-existent shirt. They also show off their trench coats: one has no back and the other does, although it is the lining. They are going to rock their fitted jackets, which nod to Christian Dior’s New Look, pieces that are already on the wish list of their legion of fans.
Casting and music are very important to them. “Of all the models, fifteen have been put on by us. They are people from the street, who represent for us that diversity and that non-gender in which we believe. And music is crucial to highlight the message. Jaime Ovel and Luis Miguel Cobo have done it, we start and close with classic, and in the middle it sounds techno.”
ACROMATYX COLLECTION:
Acromatyx Skin EFE
Acromatyx Skin EFE
Acromatyx Skin
Pedro del Hierro and Juan Vidal presented their collections at the Palacio de Cibeles, within the calendar of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Madrid, which in this edition has different stages such as the Fernán Núñez Theater (where Teresa Helbig performed) and the Fernán Núñez Palace. The Duyos show, at the Cervantes Institute, put the finishing touch to Omoda Madrid es Moda, a platform on which they stood out the parade of Devota&Lombain the House of Architectureand in the fact that Navarrete did at the Albéniz Theater.