The Bread & Butter Tradeshow fled Barcelona for Berlin a few years ago, all but wiping Spain's "second capital" from the global fashion map. Not that it had ever amounted to more than a blip in the first place. Bread & Butter is a market institution; it used to flood the city with big brands and sexy foreign bodies. It's been "replaced" with The Brandery, which has already begun to lose favor with locals and outsiders alike, if the half empty convention hall, and the "official" Brandery party, for the first time since it's inception not hosted by the region's most recognizable brand, Custo Barcelona, are any indication. Just as I was about to write my current adopted city off as a flannel country beach town who couldn't even pay Garance Dore to help it draw a fashion crowd, I scored passes to 080 Barcelona Fashion, also known as Barcelona Fashion Week: 3 days of showrooms and catwalk presentations brought to you by the Generalitat de Catalunya and a powerhouse selection of designers using the city as their creative platform.
I was sure the odds of my catching two shows, and being impressed by two shows, were pretty darn low. But Barça, as per usual, rallied...
Models wore designer Manuel Bolaño's dark mood right on their faces, pouting down the runway through black lips, hollowed out cheeks, and errant tufts of fur in their slicked back hair. The monotoned lyric "I'm dead" may have soundtracked the collection, but I wouldn't call the mood suicidal, or even goth. Fur gloves peeking out from beneath the sleeves of an oversized, hunchbacked, menswear-inspired blazer, blackened elephant (bull? goat?) tusks protruding from the layered collar of a silk top--- Bolaño '11 was more Jack London than Dracula. Lace tights and the return of the high waisted pant notwithstanding, the craftsmanship was impressive and the collection, conceptually imposing. There wasn't much wearable therein, though. Not like wearable is Bolaño's thing. This is from his 2010 Fall collection.
I'm not kidding.
Here's video of Manuel Bolaño's Fall/Winter 2011 collection:
Manuel Bolaño Finale from ieishah clelland on Vimeo.
Greek born Yiorgos Eleftheriades literally shut 080 down with a presentation of clean, Japanese sportswear-inspired pieces I could've ripped straight off the runway and strutted down Joan de Borbo in. Mix and matched ethnic prints in exquisitely cut silks and some curious one-legged trousers were just LL Cool J circa 1997 enough to keep comparisons to Y3 at bay. Eleftheriades fall/winter '11 must-haves include a simply draped black off-the-shoulder dress, black silk screened mini dresses, a fitted black wool trench with leather panelling, and a too cool grey tweed coulotte with black leather detailing. And just in case you're Angelina Jolie in The Tourist, grabbing your morning coffee on a sidewalk cafe in Paris in couture, Eleftheriades kicked in the calf length, high waisted skirt version. (You might want to forgo the platforms if you're also running from Interpol.)
*Photo Courtesy of 080 Barcelona Fashion
I was sure the odds of my catching two shows, and being impressed by two shows, were pretty darn low. But Barça, as per usual, rallied...
Models wore designer Manuel Bolaño's dark mood right on their faces, pouting down the runway through black lips, hollowed out cheeks, and errant tufts of fur in their slicked back hair. The monotoned lyric "I'm dead" may have soundtracked the collection, but I wouldn't call the mood suicidal, or even goth. Fur gloves peeking out from beneath the sleeves of an oversized, hunchbacked, menswear-inspired blazer, blackened elephant (bull? goat?) tusks protruding from the layered collar of a silk top--- Bolaño '11 was more Jack London than Dracula. Lace tights and the return of the high waisted pant notwithstanding, the craftsmanship was impressive and the collection, conceptually imposing. There wasn't much wearable therein, though. Not like wearable is Bolaño's thing. This is from his 2010 Fall collection.
I'm not kidding.
Here's video of Manuel Bolaño's Fall/Winter 2011 collection:
Manuel Bolaño Finale from ieishah clelland on Vimeo.
Greek born Yiorgos Eleftheriades literally shut 080 down with a presentation of clean, Japanese sportswear-inspired pieces I could've ripped straight off the runway and strutted down Joan de Borbo in. Mix and matched ethnic prints in exquisitely cut silks and some curious one-legged trousers were just LL Cool J circa 1997 enough to keep comparisons to Y3 at bay. Eleftheriades fall/winter '11 must-haves include a simply draped black off-the-shoulder dress, black silk screened mini dresses, a fitted black wool trench with leather panelling, and a too cool grey tweed coulotte with black leather detailing. And just in case you're Angelina Jolie in The Tourist, grabbing your morning coffee on a sidewalk cafe in Paris in couture, Eleftheriades kicked in the calf length, high waisted skirt version. (You might want to forgo the platforms if you're also running from Interpol.)
*Photo Courtesy of 080 Barcelona Fashion
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