“Corpo calejado das intemperies o sol irà afundar se atràs na bochecha de un cetaceo”.
It could be the famous street-artist Dada’s the unusual proverb in which we came across while we were slowly heading out on the steep descent that from Porto historic center lead to the Douro River banks. That’s where impressive stands the Alfandega, the historic congress center where the Portugal Fashion was preparing to celebrate its last day.
Those words, hurriedly read on a striped but beautiful wall, tell the story of a community, that of a land. The simple story of the Portuguese strongly linked to their tradition. The history of the Portuguese anxious to find in that same tradition the key to be innovative, even in fashion.
Those words have been buzzing in our heads during that last round of parades till to become the unfathomable trait d’union between a brand and the other, between the shows to be seen and the already seen ones, between the emerging designers and the experienced ones.
Our eyes could nothing but focus on the Man Collections, amazing because of the items versatility, the consistent use of materials, the desire of a research more aimed at a more contemporary fit than to the mere, academic attempt to impress the viewer.
We have selected five brands, five different azulejos which compose a unique mosaic, ours.
We do not know if they are the best, but they are for sure the ones that best embody the free spirit of F.Y!.
HIBU
“I am a free spirit. I tell the truth, and I like to mix it up”. – Ed Rendell
Founded in 2012 by Marta Gonçalves and Gonçalo Páscoa, the brand presents its FW16-17 in the Bloom section (the one dedicated to emerging talents). The goal is to deconstruct the conventional wardrobe and push it by erasing the idea of what a garment should look like, how it should be manufactured and how it should be worn. The intention is to merge every shape, color and material through unconventional manufacturing processes able to put different garments together and make the wearer create the perfect piece. Almost like a collage. We need to destroy in order to create and to evolve. We believe they have succeeded.
Estelita Mendonça
“At my Rolling Stones’ tour, the camera was a protection. I used it in a Zen way”. – Annie Leibovitz
Since 2010, the brand proposes avant-garde collections involving the use of techniques and fabrics anything but experimental, poised between art and substance. And when thinking of the artistic creation as a permanent quest for men’s new constructions, then the original function of the garment comes back: the human being’s protection. In this perspective fashion and architecture inevitably merge also thanks to reused materials as camping tents and the Pope’s blankets (100 % wool Portuguese handmade blankets). It’s all about the concept of utopia in ecology and sustainability struggling the idea of refuge wear, intimate architecture and comfort in times of crisis.
Hugo Costa
“Metamorphoses describe the process of spiritual transformation that characterizes his vision of the flourishing life” – Friedrich Nietzsche – Thus Spoke Zarathustra
This is a collection dedicated to the change. It is the collection of maturity.
The brand Hugo Costa is deeply Involved in the concept of goods. Each collection is reinvented, also in this case: from the making of the materials to the use of the classic fabrics in application to modern twist. He approaches His artistic expression through the unconventional approach to procedures like waxing and custom printing. These elements aim to function as an extension and a complement of simplicity within wis vision. He has a clear focus on the development of course. Metamorphosis is a phase, a moment that helps to transform the collection into something different, in which Costa really believes.
Mafalda Fonseca
“There is no quality in this world that is not what it is merely by contrast. Nothing exists in itself”. – Herman Melville
The collection sprang from the idea of ‘tilling’ all the components of the garments. Mafalda decides to tessellate geometric shapes of different fabrics with contrasting colors and textures, to create the illusion of a modern and balanced tilling puzzle. It is all about the mixing of materials with different textures and weight as leather, fur, wool and knitwear. The mix of gray and two shades of green are the collection fil rouge. She plays with proportions and the lines of the classic tailoring so as to contrast the classic wool fabrics she used.
KLAR STUDIO
“People are beginning to realize that we need to live in accordance with the law of ecology, the law of finite resources, and if we don’t, we’re going to go extinct”. – Paul Watson
Alexandre Marrafeiro, Andreia Oliveira and Tiago Carneiro are the faces lying behind the emerging brand KLAR, it itself in the Bloom section. Theirs is a raw and instinctive collection. It is a well-conceived collection, intimately connected to social and environmental issues. Their green solutions are smart and contemporary. The development of an environmentally friendly aesthetics is enriched by a young concept and practical parameters. KLAR intends to affirm, to reiterate, the thought uniqueness. It communicates through the items, it communicates an incontrovertible independence from the global fashion industry. The final work is a reworking of basic pieces that involves the use and recycling of materials such as faux leather and corduroy from abandoned shops and factories. These same materials are decomposed, decorated adapted to the needs of a modern youth.