Fashion Week Mexico City

Over 10,000 persons, press, celebrities, designers, models, buyers and ordinary folk – descended on Mexico City’s Hotel Camino Real during the last week of October to witness close to 40 fashion shows. The event, Fashion Week Mexico, has been occurring twice yearly (in October the Spring-Summer collections are presented, in April the Fall-Winter) for the past eight years. This recent edition featured the international designer Luis Verdad, favored by, among others, Madonna, as well as a slew of up-and-coming and established local designers. Here are some highlights from the shows.

Fashion Forward

The week kicked-off with Fashion Forward, a showcase for new local talent. Anna Terrazas, Edgar Sandoval, Jonathan Morales, Natalie Trejo and Misael Medina were the chosen newcomers. Capes, spidery leggings, cigar pants and lots of gathered, close-fitting fabrics in velvety hues of marine blue, wine red, and forest green made Anna Terrazas show a stand out. Edgar Sandoval’s huge napoleonic collars, huge belts, and huge bags were a playful twist on an otherwise classic men’s line. And short, short skirts that the models had to constantly tug at in a pastel palette reminiscent of baby-clothing (big plastic buttons on many pieces contributed to that effect) characterized Jonathan Morales’ line.

Sergio Alcalá

This show was just a lot of fun, although I don’t know if I would personally wear any of the clothes (well, maybe to a wild party). Alice in Wonderland, or rather Sergio in Dflandia, was the theme. The mix of musical accompaniment-cumbias to feminist punk- perfectly reflected the clothes- neon colors and madhatter hats woven from the same synthetic materials that many indigenous communities use in Mexico City to make baskets.

Alana Savoir

If Sergio’s show was the epitome of irreverence, then Alana’s was the bastion of refined elegance. Navy green, deep blues, creams and greys interspersed every now and then with a jolting purple. Small swaths of geometric patterns tucked into larger swaths of patternless color. A snakeskin-patterned white bodice on an elegant wedding gown.

Bombshell Industries

This is going to sound silly, but here it goes: ranchero space. Metallic space boots, traditional Mexican braids in ribbons, primary colors, cake-layer white dresses, Mexican catholic imagery of skulls, crosses and flaming hearts.

Maria Peligro

The 50’s, the 70’s, the 80’s- they’re all back. The Maria Peligro show was unabashedly retro; opening the show, a model dressed as a french maid walked out onto a runway lined with old rugs, antique-looking lamps, and other furniture and preceded to dust off the old, thus setting the tone for the show. Lace leggings, shiny black high heels, white-men’s shirt dresses, t-shirt bathing suits, blacks and greens all characterized this show.

Julia y Renata

One of the highlights of the last day of shows was Julia y Renata’s collection. These two tapatías are veterans of Fashion Week Mexico who have made a name for themselves on the international scene. Well-made clothes, artistically made clothes, made this show beautiful. Non-symmetrical drapes over lacey, subtly polka-dotty leggings in white (mainly) reminded me of ancient Greek elegance.