Madrid, fashion capital, MBFWM begins
The IFEMA Madrid Exhibition Centre has once again been the main stage for
the most important fashion event in Spain: Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Madrid.
As has been customary since 2012, Mercedes-Benz has
become the main sponsor of this event, which celebrated its
77th edition, the 24th under the umbrella and name of the automotive brand, highlighting its commitment to design elegance, innovation,
attention to detail and, above all, sustainability, not only in the automotive sector,
but also in the fashion industry.
In this edition of MBFWMadrid, new times have been more present
than ever thanks to the latest Mercedes-Benz campaign, "Land, Sea and Air",
which shows the brand's ambition to continue moving towards a fully electric future and to achieve a neutral carbon footprint by 2039. As always, the fashion event includes a series of previous shows, the so-called OFF section. Established designers showcased their daring proposals, some in the form of a fashion show, others as a fashion film, or by displaying their creations on mannequins.
The fashion shows took place itinerantly at different points in the capital, from the Spanish Olympic Committee to the Larra building, or in a Rolling Dance&Burger. On Tuesday, February 14th, the OFF section began with the proposals of the students from Esne, the University of Design and Technology, within the #MBFWMadrid program. The designs from the 'Paranoia Fall - Winter 2023 2024' collection created an imaginary full of textures generated by experimental textile manipulations.
On Wednesday, the rest of the OFF shows were held, the first one at the Spanish Olympic Committee headquarters with María Lafuente as the protagonist. The designer from León, a benchmark for using sustainable fabrics, showed a collection titled Inefable. In it, she displayed organic, moulage, and architectural patterns with different volumes under a chromatic palette dominated by pink, aubergine, and purple, shades that coexist with peach, turquoise green, gray, navy blue, and black. The designer featured the Italian media personality, Marco Onestini, among her models.
For his part, designer Viriato presented a collection in "El Invernadero" focused on timeless pieces that offer versatility and comfort through modern elements that give a new life, through combinations of colors and textured fibers, overlock, and intarsia. Alfonso Pérez Álvarez, creative director of Angel Schlesser, was inspired by the house's fragrances such as "Femme" to build an elegant and symbolic collection, in which, like "an alchemist, I have mixed colors and textures". The Larra building hosted the presentation colored with a palette of yellows, aubergine, chocolate brown, blues, and greens that will color the autumn-winter of 2023, "tones for which I was inspired by the floral components of Schlesser perfumes," according to Pérez.
A way to bring joy to that time of year with pieces tinted with great pattern work, origami details in chiffons and "transparencies as subtle as perfume" in organzas and silks. Reversible garments, wide coats with structured shoulders, pieces that mix textures such as hairy wool fabrics, chiffons with leatherette, metallic and matte, with which the designer seeks the versatility of a creation "without gender, despite being a very feminine collection". Rafael Urquízar presented a collection in which he showed a mysterious woman interested in the esoteric and spiritual world, "who studies her roots, uses meditation, but is modern and glamorous," the designer explains to EFE.
Pertegaz showcased a selection of iconic and timeless pieces with fluid silhouettes in neutral tones such as camel, black, or burgundy, which contrasted with vibrant color notes like bougainvillea, acid lime, or fuchsia, an unmistakable hallmark of the house. Drawing inspiration from 1960s fashion, the brand presented psychedelic garments with geometric shapes and straight lines, highlighting "baby doll" silhouettes, flared sleeves, drapes, and plays of volumes.
Pilar Jiménez Torrecillas, the soul of the firm Pilar Dalbat, presented "Buxaira" at the Official College of Architects of Madrid, a collection inspired by her hometown, Granada, but this time with an interesting commitment to the history of matriarchy, artisanal crafts, and the valorization of the historical complex of Alpujarra and La Taha. "This region, declared a Site of Cultural Interest, forms the largest protected heritage area in Europe and has served as a setting for me to create the collection," she explains.
Also, Eduardo Navarrete, the multifaceted fashion hurricane, premiered his new collection within the framework of the Madrid runway, where, as always, everything was a party with a show and friends. Alternating his creativity in design with the direction of his own communication and events agency, in addition to his television facet, "I wanted to be who I am today, even if it doesn't pigeonhole me." Accompanied by regular friends of the firm such as Alejandro Amenábar and Mario Vaquerizo, Navarrete baptized his collection as "N-61" with models on skates in the Rolling Dance & Burguer space on the attic of Chamartín station.
"Sometimes I wonder if I've gotten myself into too many fronts by being in such diverse fields, but I've discovered worlds beyond design that I love," he explains to EFE as he goes back and forth controlling every detail. Designing, modeling, running his own communication agency, or singing in his own cabaret are just some of his activities. After putting his models in shopping carts in his previous collection, he now stages the first entire fashion show on skates. "I had never been to the Rolling rink, but I discovered the story of a seventy-year-old couple who met there and have been going skating ever since, and I thought: this place is for me." In his new proposal, Navarrete is inspired by his homeland, the Costa Blanca and its landscapes, which he translates into a particular swimwear proposal inspired by Torrevieja, his hometown, and in which layers, swimsuits, bikinis, dresses, and t-shirts appear covered with his emblematic digital prints in shades ranging from navy to neon.
Félix Ramiro was also present at the OFF with his ARISTOS collection, the term used in Ancient Greece to refer to the best, the strongest, those with the most courage, the most skill, those who stood out for their honesty and for being better trained both physically and intellectually.
For his fashion show, the designer brought back the civil guard on leave, and now television personality and model Jorge Pérez, and Alberto Pelaez from Malaga. The shows prior to ON, the runway inside the Ifema venue, ended with Roberto Verino's collection, 'Elogio a la forma' (Praise for Form). It is a vindication, a way of restoring to form its aesthetic value and symbolic importance, a commitment to timeless fashion with a contemporary cut.