October 10, 2010
The second day of the Art Week offered four monobrand runway shows: two from Spanish labels, Agatha Ruiz De La Prada and Lemoniez, one from Japan`s Chisato Tsumori, and Underground youth fashion show, which, according to Gulnara Karimova, provides an opportunity for up-and-coming and promising designers to show their worth and be judged by the broad public. The effectiveness of the project “Underground” consists in the fact that a number of designers who participated in previous shows are now presenting their collections at higher-level runways.
“Underground”, one of the highlights and multifaceted shows of the Art Week, is an opportunity for young fashion professionals to showcase stunning collections to highlight their individual and unparalleled styles. The designers injected romantic femininity and male brutality as well as mischief and playfulness into their collections. Elaborate dresses with long trains and waves of drapery were some of the salient elements in the collections by Gulya Razakova and Lilia Polyunina. UMI`s creations bearing marine motifs and blue and white stripes were just as impressive. Collections from Kanishka and Lidiya Andre expressed men`s aggressive nature. The final pieces in the collections of the two designers were a fluffy fur coat and a dazzling costume covered with sequins and silvery opalescence. Naturally enough, as the title – youth fashion show – suggests, “Underground” offered clothing geared for the youth as well. It was Taisiya Churcina, Larisa Belaya and Nadya Kim who focused on this category. Although these young professionals exhibited originality and wayward imaginativeness through their creations, the pieces are quite wearable. The string of fashion shows concluded with a collection created by the Japanese fashion designer Naoshi Sawayanagi, who was a sort of an example of what young talents can achieve.
Inspired by the many countries she has visited, Japanese designer Chisato Tsumori`s striking collection combines styles from diverse nations: motifs of Mediterranean peoples, oriental details in broad trousers and handmade golden embroidery. She says she looks out for what new cultures have to offer, which she likes to incorporate in her creativity.
The collection from Agatha Ruiz De La Prada, one of Spain`s stellar fashion labels, was filled with colors and interesting details. A bold combination of blue, pink, red, yellow, green, orange and purple as well as original details and geometric shapes on the clothing was offered to young fashion enthusiasts gathered for the show. Even glasses on the sashaying models` heads looked regal while the bright high-platform shoes looked avant-garde.
Another leading Spanish fashionista, Fernando Lemoniez, presented a glitzy collection of evening dresses and pieces for daily-wear. While De La Prada seemed to have experimented with bright hues and bold combinations, her compatriot Lemoniez relied on more classical strict tones. His palette was composed of turquoise, beige, silver, brown and black. The collection also included chic fur coats of various tinges of grey and brown. As the shows by both the designers took place on after another, the Agatha-Fernando combination amounted to a sort of an emotional construct composed of a placid and solemn Lemoniez island surrounded by buzzing colors of De La Prada bay.
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Act four