Davidelfín Autumn/Winter 2011 “Diogenes Syndrome”

The Diogenes syndrome, which can also be called senile squalor syndrome, was noted in 1966 as a disorder that is characterized by self-neglect, anti-social behavior, hoarding, and other such compulsions

The disorder derived its name from the ancient Greek philosopher Diogenes of Sinope (modern-day Turkey)—a Cynic and minimalist.

Diogenes was bold character, who never feared going against the grain or attacking corruption.

He finally moved to the big metropolis of Athens to defy the city-state system, advocating the return to the simplicity of nature.

His name has since resurfaced throughout the millennia in literature, art, and now fashion!

See the collection here.

Photos Copyright Davidelfin.

Davidelfín Spring/Summer 2011 “Tautology”

David Elfín entered the world of fashion through painting, which permeates every collection.

When the label was created in 2001 by Bimba Bosé; Deborah, Gorka, and Diego Postigo; and David Elfín, the team based it on the media of photography, architecture, and video as they seek to heighten the emotions of their audience.

For spring/summer 2011, Davidelfin has prepared a collection entitled “Tautology.”

The Free Online Dictionary defines ‘tautology’ as:

1.
a. Needless repetition of the same sense in different words; redundancy.
b. An instance of such repetition.
2. Logic An empty or vacuous statement composed of simpler statements in a fashion that makes it logically true whether the simpler statements are factually true or false; for example, the statement Either it will rain tomorrow or it will not rain tomorrow.

Have a look at the collection here.

Photos Copyright Davidelfin.

Francis Montesinos—Still Pulling out the Surprises!

Francis Montesinos Gil was born 1950 in Valencia, Spain, and has worked in a wide spectrum of fields, including cinema, ballet, theater, graphic design, perfume, and fashion.

His works draw heavy on Spanish folklore and its Mediterranean roots as he reinterprets and personalizes them to suit modern society.

See the collection here.

Photo Copyright Getty Images, Used with Permission by Image.net.

Roberto Verino—the Picasso of Spanish Fashion

(Manuel) Roberto Verino was born 1945 in Verín, Ourense, Spain, and began showing his collections at Madrid’s Cibeles just two years after having studied Fine Arts and Business in Paris.

Now nearly 30 years later, Roberto has received awards like best designer of Spain and has launched a line of eyewear, as well as fragrances, watches, ceramics, and wines.

Simple and sophisticated, Roberto Verino designs are infused with romance and culture.

Noteworthy is Verino’s guiding principle in life—the words of Picasso: “Inspiration is very important but it should find you hard at work when it arrives.”

Check out the autumn/winter 2011 collection here.

Photos Copyright Getty Images, Used Image.net.

Devota & Lomba at Cibeles Madrid

Devota and Modesto Lomba are not new to the fashion scene but rather launched their career in 1986, going on to win numerous awards.

After the death of Luis Devota, Modesto carried the baton entering into men’s under garments and swimwear.

Devota and Lomba can be characterized by architecture, deconstruction, and a dark palette with dashes of color that highlight detail.

See the autumn/winter 2011 collection here.

Photos Getty Images, Used with Permission by Image.net.

Victorio & Lucchino and the Soul of Seville

The label Victorio & Lucchino embraces the spirit of Andalusia where it was born, a crossroads of Christian, Arab, and Jewish cultures.

Victorio & Lucchino was founded by José Víctor Rodríguez Caro and José Luis Medina del Corral during the 1970’s when Seville was undergoing an artistic revival, which is characterized by this fashion label.

See the 2011 autumn/winter collection here.

Photos Copyright Getty Images, Used with Permission by Image.net.

Blanco Spring/Summer 2011

Blanco pays tribute to summer light with [Brazilian model] Evandro Soldati as the main protagonist.

The new Spring Summer 2011 collection by Blanco is mainly warm. The light and shadow effects surround a coloristic campaign in which green, navy blue, coral and ochre stand out.

The chain of stores has gone retro this season with styles from the 1950s, 60s and 70s.

For men, sporty and urban are the trends this season. Clothes that are comfortable and easy to wear, such as chino trousers, which Blanco brings with a youthful look, adding elastic round the ankles and combining sporty lines with more classic looks.

Green khaki is the favorite color this season and the common factor in both the styles in fashion: military and safari.

For their part, natural tones like cream, watery green and sky blue add a different touch to jeans.

See the look book here.

About Blanco
Blanco is a Spanish label with more than 160 stores in Spain, Portugal, the UK, and Saudi Arabia.
Photos & text Copyright Blanco.

Juan Antonio Àvalos & the Tropical Knight

Two years after graduating in Fashion Design at the FD Moda in Barcelona, Spanish designer Juan Antonio Àvalos founded his eponymous label in 2009.

In June last year, Juan’s 2011 spring/summer collection won first prize for the Best Menswear Collection at Barcelona Fashion Week.

The collection is entitled “Tropical Knight,” which draws inspiration from two sources: Medieval knights and California surfers.

As you will see from the photos, the collection revives the 1970 culture of Californian surfers, as well as skaters.

If you ever had difficulty trying to picture a medieval knight on the sands of California, well, look no more!

Check out this fun collection here.

Photos Copyright Juan Antonio Àvalos.

Visual Poetry by Visual Poetry

Situated in Barcelona, Spain, Visual Poetry has been designing shirts, t-shirts, and sweatshirts since 2006.

The company was founded by young team of artists, ranging from music to graffiti.

The name of the label was derived from the poetic messages, which are applied to the garments as a means of meaningful expression instead of “nonsense.”

Visual Poetry maintains a high quality in the aesthetics of the garment, as well as in the ethics of its manufacturing, striving for organic processes.

See more tees here.

Photos Copyright Visual Poetry Barcelona.

Ana Locking: Insides

There´s a part of me in all of my collections, each of them reflect my worries and personal fears, parts of my being…

"INSIDES" plays with irony and double entendre. Physical insides versus emotional insides; a dissection of the duality of men; body and soul; flesh and spirit, the marriage between these two opposite concepts.

“INSIDES” is a story about decomposition and regeneration; life in motion. There are existential crises and lively emotions.

The prints in “INSIDES” are photographs of the insides of the human body captured by the lens of a microscope.

Materials and textures decorated with images of red corpuscles, leukocytes, muscle tissue, tendon; the paradox: that it is covering the outside with the inside.

Being able to literally see the insides of the body gives people the chance to see themselves in a whole new light.

Shapes
The clothes are tailored and perfectly structured. Sheer, lace, asymmetries and tailored belted jackets are some of the primary elements.

Colors & Textures
Pale skin, tanned skin, red blood, blue blood, yellow bile, bones and black that comes from the depths of the human being.

Photographic prints of the human body are the main motif of the collection and create a parade of abstract images that resemble natural landscapes.

Accessories
Jewelry is in the spotlight: circular charms hang from tangled chain necklaces and bracelets as a metaphor for red corpuscles intertwining with muscle tissue.

The shoes: sandals for men that allow room for the skin to breathe and python and leather stilettos for women with sky high heels complete the look.

See the entire collection here.

Photos & text Copyright Ana Locking.

Adolfo Dominguez at Cibeles Madrid Fashion Week

As many of you know, September is a month packed with fashion weeks around the world.

Just last week was Cibeles Fashion Week in Madrid, where numerous menswear designers from Spain presented their 2011 spring/summer collections.

First in the lineup, I would like to present Adolfo Dominguez, a true pioneer in the Spanish fashion industry.

In 1950, Adolfo Dominguez, Sr., opened a tailor shop in Orense, Spain. When he passed away in the mid-1970’s, his son, Adolfo Dominguez, Jr., took over and launched a high-end menswear line.

In 1991, a fire destroyed the factory, but Adolfo Dominguez would not be overcome. The company restructured and prospered!

Nearly 20 years later, the label is still a pioneer in the Spanish fashion market, encouraging people everywhere not to allow distaster to stop us!

Click here to view the collection.

Bershka “Shooting Stars” in Autumn/Winter 2010

If you live in one of the 47 countries of the massive chain of stores, you may be familiar with Bershka, which belongs to the Inditex Group, owner of Zara.

Founded 1998 in Spain, Bershka is a concept store that appeals largely to a young target market.

For autumn/winter 2010, Bershka douses us with lots of splashing colors in plaids, tees, sweaters, and trendy jackets.

Enjoy the video!

Photos Copyright Bershka.

Relax This Summer with Bershka

One of my favorite pastimes back home in Italy was to visit Bershka—the local fashion-minded store that is owned by the Spanish company, Inditex (INdustria de DIseño TEXtil, which translates as Textile Design Industries, Inc.).

Founded and chaired by Spain’s wealthiest entrepreneur, Amancio Ortega Gaona, Inditex also owns Zara, Massimo Dutti, Pull and Bear, Oysho, and Stradivarius.

Two years after Inditex had founded Bershka in 1998, the new trendy brand was already being sold in 100 locations.

Now, a dozen years later, Bershka has expanded into 600 stores in 42 countries.

Bershka’s team of designers is comprised of 50 professionals who propose over 4,000 products within its massive network of stores.

So, have a look at the 2010 spring/summer collection and relax this summer with Bershka!



Photo & slideshow 2010 spring/summer collection Copyright Bershka.

“Spinning Destiny” by Ana Locking

For autumn/winter 2010, Spanish label Ana Locking explores destinations and perspectives of pleasure—the development of an aesthetic canon—in a collection entitled “Spinning Destiny.”

The young designer spins her vibrantly colored collection of destiny into an existential refection on fate and the human nature.

Ana ponders on whether fashion, as an expression, can be an instrument that interprets our fears and desires without sacrificing its inherent allure, aesthetic, and sensual pleasure.

She reflects on the opposite; that is, whether this “Beauty of Guilt” has no other choice but to “dissolve into the bitter impotence of form.”

The richness in color of Ana Locking’s 2010 autumn/winter collection is a mere reflection of her profound contemplations concerning destiny.

Her kaleidoscope of colorful meditations on the impact of fate on human nature and how it ultimately affects the makeup of our personality raises an important question.

“What part of the future depends on chance and what part depends on our character?”

Ana González was born 1970 in Toledo, Spain, and studied at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Madrid. Winner of multiple awards, Ana founded Ana Locking in 2008.



Photo & slideshow 2010 autumn/winter collection “Spinning Destiny” Copyright Ana Locking.

Counting Down to 2010 with Jan iú Més

Jan Zamora Royo and Alfonso Peña Carreras are the amazing designers behind the label Jan iú Més, which is situated in Barcelona.

The two Catalan designers approach contemporary fashion through a unique restrained aesthetic, which begins with rigid silhouettes.

They then continue with a rational, mathematical view of styles, which is reflected in austere abstract forms.

Here’s a look at the Jan iú Més 2010 s/s collection! Let the countdown begin!

(Please turn off playlist below before starting video)

For more reading on Jan iú Més, see my article Jan iú Més Prepares Us for Cold Times Ahead

Photo, Slideshow & Video 2010 s/s collection, Copyright Jan iú Més.

“Wood do Wow” & the Memories of a Young Girl by Karlota Laspalas

Earlier this summer I wrote an article on Pamplona, Spain, and the Festival of San Fermín, featuring a label that designs t-shirts for the festivities of the events.

Now, I would like to introduce you to a promising young designer, who is also from Pamplona. Her name is Karlota Laspalas, who moved to Barcelona to study Fashion Design at the Escuela Superior de Diseño y Moda Felicidad Duce.

Karlota is unique in that approaches design by transferring her life experiences and the emotions that they evoke—such as memories, fears, sorrows, and the like—in to one concept, which represents her internal and external being. Her recent collection exemplifies this approach.

Karlota’s father comes from a small Basque village called Ochagavía, which lies in the Salazar Valley of Navarre, Spain, where the Irati forest is located.

Having spent 12 years in the area, Karlota nurtures strong childhood memories of the forest. A documentary on the land art of British sculptor Andy Goldsworthy triggered Karlota’s memories of the trees’ crooked branches, the feel of bark, and the smell of autumn leaves.

Two years after the completion of her schooling, Karlota presented at Ego Cibeles Madrid Fashion Week her first collection, which she named “Wood do Wow” and pointed to wood as a symbol of simplicity, purity, and longevity.

Karlota drew inspiration from one more source: the folds and wrinkles in the wooden sculptures of Venetian wood artist, Loris Marazzi. As Loris carves ornamental garments of apparel out of rugged wood, so Karlota has fashioned a collection of rugged menswear that is inspired by the grooves, knots, and grains of wood.

For more information on Karlota, have a look at out her blog.



Photo top center Irati Forest Copyright Karlota Laspalas.
Photo middle right & slideshow 2009 a/w collection “Wood do Wow,” photographer Salva López, Copyright Karlota Laspalas.