Grand Opening, Grand Closing

Yesterday was the last day in Barcelona, and Caroline walked in three shows... But I'll get to those all in good time. Yesterday, she was present on runways at both Justicia Ruano 9PM, and Cardona Bonache. First, Ruano:

Watching the video, Caroline led the finale walk as you see from the picture above. However, I've not yet found pictures of her second look aside from this... I'll post them if and when I do! Because it was the only appearance of this look, I'm tempted to call it a closing look, but I'm not entirely sure?

At Cardona Bonache later in the day, Caroline had one look in what was a futuristic collection by Catalan-based design team Victor Cardona Marques and Israel Frutos Bonache.

The collection was an exploration of the uses of godets in garment construction. Initially developed as a way of providing the clothes with more volume than would otherwise be the case, godets also allowed the wearer a bit more freedom of movement. Essentially, you sew a triangular piece of fabric into vertical slits made in the hem of a skirt or dress to achieve this effect. At Cardona Bonache, however, the technique was applied in a variety of places outside the traditional hemline, appearing on everything from leather jackets and lapels, to being implied by the prints on pieces like Caroline's dress. 

On Wednesday, Caroline walked three shows: Celia Vela, Manuel Bolano, and Yiorgos Elefthriades. Here they are in order of appearance.

The Brasch took two turns at Celia Vela, where the designer used a plethora of textures, prints, and fabrics with the intention of evoking what she describes as an involuntary emotional phenomenon, like falling in love for a lifetime. Models with crimped hair strutted the catwalk in tweed, wool and velvet; brocade, lace, and what may have once been Renaissance paintings. I'm not sure if I'm in love for a lifetime, but for the present, I'll allow myself to be entertained. I will give her points for the tears post show though. Romantic touch.

Manuel Bolano brought another two looks later in the day. I was uncertain at first as to whether these were Caroline because of how the makeup distorted the upper half of her heavenly visage, but in all honesty, I think I'd recognize that tell-tale cheek-sucking anywhere. 

I'm not very well-versed in Spanish culture, but the stereotypes that I am familiar with tell me that Bolano borrowed generously from the traditions of his homeland. Some of these elements that I picked out were probably the more obvious ones: accessorizing with massive bull horns, heavy woolen fabrics reminiscent of traditional ponchos, and neatly tailored blouses (Which I know have been worn by just about everyone, but for some reason, I have this image in my head of a strict Spanish woman in a crisp, white, bibbed blouse and a black skirt. Don't ask, cause I don't have an answer.). I'm also picking up on a bit of a nomadic feel. Anything else is currently over my head. Bolano did provide us with a poem in description of his collection though, which follows here:

Rehearsal for a farewell

Escape, escape towards a forest.

You can go or return

or ceasing to be better today forever

so do not go and you will not be ever.
Dark forest. You're cold.
Inanimate shadows haunt me.
I want to run but I can not
trees whisper
animals clothed me.
Being happy or suffer
now if you'll know what it feels like
sleep when the victim is you.

Right. So what I'm getting from this is that we're living in a world where we have been hurt in some way, but how so, I cannot say. Perhaps it is the bonds of a social position that keep us constricted, or an abusive family. Maybe we have lost a loved one. Either way, I think it's pretty clear that we're depressed, and looking for some kind of escape. 

The events of the poem are described as a "Rehearsal for a farewell" and sleep is brought up later on, as well as the idea of a temporary fix in lines 3 - 5, so I'm drawing that we are imagining our escape from whatever is going on through our dreams, just to get an idea of what things would be like if we decided to run away from it all. We lose ourselves in a forest, where things are dank and dark and difficult. We must hunt, and care for ourselves, because we are alone. And though we have left home with the intention of escaping, it seems we have leaped from the fire to the frying pan. 

The last lines are what really get me here. There is the contrast of "being happy" versus suffering, now that you "know what it feels like". It really gets at how we tend to romanticize ideas of the past (in the poem, we are thinking that a past life where we live in forests and live a nomadic lifestyle would be much better than the one we are presently leading) and ignore the dirty details. If we take those things into account, the past seems much more dangerous and foul a place than we imagine it in our heads. So in these verses, we are given the choice: we can choose to find escapism through happy, romanticized dreams of what life could be like, or we can actually follow through and find ourselves just as (or more) miserable. 

The counsel we receive in the final line: "Sleep when the victim is you." Your conscience is shouting "Don't run off into the woods, girl! It's dangerous out there, and you'll be alone and far from help! Sleep here, where you are safe!" Now, I don't personally advise for people dealing with depression to spend their lives sleeping because their dreams are happier places than their real lives. But hey, tragedy makes for some of the most excellent poetry!

Anyway, I hope you all get the connection between my interpretation of the poem and what's going on in the collection. The distraught and tear-stained faces of the models are a clue. 

Caroline concluded her stay in Barcelona with Yiorgos Eleftheriades, where she had two looks, including the opener. She also lead the finale:

I have to admit, when Caro came out in her second look, I had a bit of a giggle. Yiorgos Eleftheriades was the last show in Barcelona (not just for Caroline, but on the whole calendar), and I can't help but feel that she had that in mind as she vigorously power walked that last look, cause boy, were the head and hips swinging! :P

All jokes aside though, this was a great three days for The Brasch, with seven shows and thirteen looks, one opening slot, and one (two?) closings. There's no stopping Alla K though... Now that I think about it, I don't think she missed a single show, and she opened or closed each one of the ones she walked (or most of them, anyway). 

Caroline does not have a showcard for Copenhagen, so there is a possibility that we won't be seeing her until New York, but I feel certain that she'll make an appearance at some point. I'd love to see her power walk against Natasha Poly (who is expected in Denmark this season)... That would be a sight. 

Photos courtesy of 080barcelonafashion.com 

Brain & Brasch : Welcome to Barcelona

Would you believe it, in my excitement over the upcoming fashion week in Copenhagen, I COMPLETELY forgot about Barcelona! And as luck would have it, Caroline is there (many thanks to Not So Swedish's Gill Ford for the tip! :). I say luck, but I guess it should have been expected. It's not like she didn't walk Barca last season. And she also seems determined to walk every fashion week that exists.

She started off yesterday with two looks at Brain & Beast. The Spanish label turned out a collection rife with combinations of bright and dark colours, cozy knitwear and leather, and an overarching theme of attention-grabbing tartans.

A few hours later, she showed up at Tsolo Munkh, a fashion house headed by Mongolian-born, Parisian-based designer Tsolmandakh Munkhuu. Munkhuu's brand is still in it's infancy, having only just been born last year, and I have to say, I'm interested in seeing how she develops as a designer. I skimmed through the collection, pick up on a lot of black, a lot of leather, and what I interpreted as a punky, nomadic style, which have been permeating a lot of collections in the past few years with the rise of Balmain, and the affinity of many off-duty models for leather jackets and motocross pants. But then I paid a bit more attention, and picked up on certain coloured elements of the line, and noted a kind of exotic feel to the clothes that is not unlike what I sometimes associate with Rick Owens. Reading the description, I learned that Munkhuu actually took a host of traditional Buddhist elements and silhouettes and integrated them into the collection, melding the forces of the modern west with the ancient eastern tradition. I'll have to do a bit of a reconsideration on Rick Owens' collections, but I wonder if he's drawing on similar influences and concepts? Either way, I'm intrigued by Munkhuu, and look forward to seeing her work evolve. Especially if she gives The Brasch the honour of closing her show.

Today, Caroline also walked for Justicia Ruano 9PM, but the day is not yet done, so I'll wait on that one until we see if she shows up anywhere else! I'm wondering whether she plans to stick around for all of Barcelona? Copenhagen starts on Wednesday, which is also the final day in Spain... Will she skip the first day of Copenhagen in favour of the tail-end of Barcelona, or vice-versa? Will she even go to Denmark at all? OH the suspense!

Photos courtesy of 080barcelonafashion.com