The Untitled Magazine was invited this year to Dragao Fashion Week by Textbrasil. The 5 day event took place in the beachside town of Fortaleza, Brazil. It was impressive to see some of the amazing collections coming out of the Brazilian Market. Dragao Fashion Week is considered to be the “creative” Brazilian Fashion Week, in comparison to San Paulo or Rio . It featured a lot of up-and-coming designers as well as a few that are decidedly more Haute Couture, such as designers Lino Villaventura and Jum Nakao. There was also a strong emphasis on student designers, with a competition between the Brazilian Universities, Concurso dos Novos, or New Talent Competition, who each presented collections to a very enthusiastic audience before the main collections hit the runways. The shows for the most part took place in the evenings, leaving the day to enjoy the stunning brazilian beaches. We selected our favorite collections from the week, which included designers Jum Nakao, Lino Villabentura, MarcusSoon, KZA Do Dragao, Lindebergue Fernandes, Mark Greiner, Melk Zda, Ronaldo Silvestre, Sá. Maria, Sá. Maria, Vivi Huhn, Doiselles, Ivanildo Nunes, as well as Italian Design team Leitmotiv, who premiered their collection in Milan this season, and were special guests at Dragao.
JUM NAKAO – DRAGAO F/W 2012 FASHION SHOW
Jum Nakao’s collection was created as part of the reality show Creative Industries. Nakao, a famous stylist and designer throughout Brazil, allowed cameras to film him from the inception to the completion of his collection for this year’s Dragao Fashion Week, all of which was broadcasted live on the internet. Nakao worked with local students, professionals, and artisans to reinterpret traditional art forms from Cearà, Brazil to create his Project Reality collection. The result of Nakao’s project was a collection, created in just five days, that was ethereally beautiful with a strong, compelling aesthetic reminiscent of McQueen.
LINO VILLAVENTURA – DRAGAO F/W 2012 FASHION SHOW
Lino Villabentura presented his 2012 collection at Dragao which was inspired by Francis Bacon. His monochromatic collection, created for the most part out of taffeta, organza, and silk gauze, was enlivened by a final evening gown with gold appliqué and a vibrant orange and purple jacket that looks like it came right out of one of Bacon’s paintings. Cage-like head pieces suggested that these models were a mix between warriors and queens, which was only enhanced by skirts that cascaded in ruffles and pleats and bondage inspired elements.
MARCUSSOON – DRAGAO F/W 2012 FASHION SHOW
The MarcusSoon collection for Dragao Fashion Week 2012 was all about transparencies on floor-length evening gowns and skirts combined with luxurious furs and wide-brimmed hats that gave the collection a femme fatale flavor. The collection referenced 1920s glamour in a predominately neutral palette with only the rare pop of bold color.
LEITMOTIV – DRAGAO F/W 2012 FASHION SHOW
Italian design team behind Leitmotiv, Fabio Sasso and Juan Caro, showed their first collection at Dragao Fashion Week, mere weeks after showing their Fall 2012 collection in Milan. The collection, l’universo elegante, played with various digital prints and bold, graphic patterns, masterfully mixed together to create effortlessly cool ensembles. Leitmotiv has once again created a ready-to-wear collection for men and women consisting of statement pieces that are urban and contemporary while remaining totally unique.
KZA DO DRAGAO – DRAGAO F/W 2012 FASHION SHOW
KZA Do Dragao’s fall collection for Dragao Fashion Week, organized by Claudio Silveira and presenting pieces created by Lindebergue Fernandes, mixed local handmade crafts, like crochet, with elements inspired by the industrial aspect of Britain. Silveira and Fernandes took vintage fabrics purchased from around Portobello and added the work of artisans from Jericoacoara. The goal was to create a collection that both referenced where it came from, but had an international appeal as well. Fernandes said of the collection that it, “is universal, covering the world and not tied to region
LINDEBERGUE FERNANDES – DRAGAO F/W 2012 FASHION SHOW
Lindebergue Fernandes presented a quirky and irreverent collection for Dragao Fashion Week, drawing inspiration from a day in the life of a housewife. The collection was then broken into three sections: cooking, telenovela, and religion. The fashion show was youthful and fun, with oversized vinyl egg appliques, Renaissance iconography used in digital prints, and skirts woven out of plastic tablecloth fabric. Despite these irreverent touches, however, Fernandes maintained a dramatic, feminine aesthetic throughout the collection.
MARK GREINER – DRAGAO F/W 2012 FASHION SHOW
Mark Greiner is a designer who has been trained as an architect, only turning to fashion in 2001 when he participated in a competition for emerging talents during Dragao Fashion Week. Since then he has fine-tuned and honed his craft, demonstrating his prowess in his conceptual, avante-gard fall collection. Geiner’s chic, tailored, contemporary pieces were given extra impact thanks to wildly imaginative and striking headgear created by Armênia Rocha, another local fashion designer.
MELK ZDA – DRAGAO F/W 2012 FASHION SHOW
Melk Zda presented a collection inspired by pottery that was delicate and feminine while being keeping a clean, structural line for Dragao Fashion Week 2012. The collection was done in a palette of neutral colors that combined with the transparent fabrics gave the outfits a lightness and fluidity. The simplicity of the silhouettes was given a rocker edge with metal and pottery embellishment and models covered in fake facial piercings.
RONALDO SILVESTRE – DRAGAO F/W 2012 FASHION SHOW
For Dragao Fashion Week 2012, Ronaldo Silvestre showed his collection “Miraculous: My mind is the key that sets me free,” for the second time, having shown that same collection earlier at the 30th Casa de Criadores. The show was inspired by the great illusionist Harry Houdini, with straight jacket detailing, some turn of the century style pants, and images of Houdini used in prints, all made in very sustainable, environmentally friendly fabrics.
SÁ. MARIA – DRAGAO F/W 2012 FASHION SHOW
Sá. Maria’s 2012 collection showed the height of romantic clothing, inspired by Peter Soyer Beagle’s book, The Last Unicorn. The collection was light and airy with every variation of transparent garments in white, black, and orange. The collection also takes design inspiration from the famous fifteenth century French millefleur tapestries, “The Lady and the Unicorn.” And, of course, no unicorn inspired collection would be complete without the appropriate single-horned headgear
VIVI HUHN – DRAGAO F/W 2012 FASHION SHOW
Vivi Huhn’s collection at Dragao was girly and sweet with cutesy prints and oversized bows that had a Parisian charm. Huhn, who is a stylist from Para, Brazil, appropriately named her youthful collection, “April in Paris.” The cocktail dresses in retro 50s and 60s patterns were made super current with pops of neon colors and a form-fitting silhouette.
DOISELLES – DRAGAO F/W 2012 – FASHION SHOW
The Doiselles collection presented at the 2012 Dragao Fashion Week relied on local craftsmanship techniques to create unique, knit pieces. The knitwear, which came in a wide assortment of dress styles paired with neutral colored coats and vests, was all created by prisoners from Minas Gerais. So not only is this collection of loose weaves beautiful, but it does something beautiful for the community in return.
IVANILDO NUNES – DRAGAO F/W 2012 FASHION SHOW
Ivanildo Nunes utilized a handcrafted aesthetic when creating his 2012 collection for Dragao Fashion Week. The art nouveau inspired pieces take cues from wrought iron and renaissance lace with lots of transparent elements that make Nunes’ dresses incredibely alluring. Mixing the delicate, lace elements with shiny patent leather and precise, fitted construction gives these evening gowns a tougher feel that is very of the moment.
CONCURSO DOS NOVOS -DRAGAO F/W 2012 – FASHION SHOW
Dragao Fashion Week’s Concurso dos Novos, or New Talent Competition, allows fashion students from all over Brazil the opportunity to show their work at the biggest fashion event in Northeast Brazil with influential, international attendees. This year’s theme for the team of fashion students from UFC, the Federal University of Cearà, was “Weave Fashion – Industry & Artisan: How to establish a dialogue between mass production and manual labor.” The resulting student collection, entitled “The Itza Age,” took inspiration from Mayan culture, designing couture for a new generation of female warriors.
Coverage by Indira Cesarine, Assisted by Emily Kirkpatrick
Photos provided courtesy of Dragao Fashion Week
