it's probably tiresome to hear me claiming that practically every brazilian label we discuss is my favourite (though to be fair, i think i've been doing more of that in rio de janeiro than são paulo), so while i won't exactly say it with triton, i will say that their f/w 2012 show was one i had looked forward to very much indeed. when first introduced to the house a year ago (see f/w 2011), i was a little skeptical, thanks to a paris hilton appearance on the runway, but i quickly succumbed to the realization that to dismiss them would be a shame, and by s/s 2012 had warmed to them considerably. now, their thing is young and cute, so if you're an older, more sophisticated customer of, say, andrea marques, you're probably not going to warm to triton just the same, but no matter, says i, it's not weighty, just fun.
this time around, as the brazilian site ffw explains for us, the brand opted to tackle (trans.) "(a) mix of young Brazilians looking at European images such as the vaults of Notre Dame and medieval art." they also kept bringing up the word "college" (which, interestingly enough, was part of the inspiration a year ago), so the notion i was getting was something like art history students paging through books and visiting museums and co-opting the images into their own style in an interesting way. that, and early-mid-nineties punk, which was evoked in the thick-soled boots (which rather resembled dr. martens or creepers, i thought), as well as some of the layers and the chains (okay, so they were beads, but from a distance, they looked like chains) hanging off anastasia kuznetsova's blouse (at bottom).
anyway, as elle reports, designer karen fuke employed materials like knitwear, wool, brocades, organza, tweed, muslin, jaquard, silk georgette, and crepe, with embellishments including a variety of bead types, embroidery, and crystals. the colour palette was lovely as ever, with dark shades like black, deep gray, teal, cobalt, rust, and french blue balanced out with lighter hues of lemony citron, bone, mustard, and goldfish orange. patterns were worked quite heavily, and although none of my sources can explain them to my satisfaction, they generally tended to be architectural, sweeping, and almost gothic-style geometrics (but in a much more contemporary colour scheme) that i'm assuming came from the nave of notre dame, especially because ms. fuke confirmed to elle, (trans.) "(t)here were several references, one of them was the Gothic vaults of the cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris."
with regards to the fall's silhouette, portais da moda reflects that the pants and shirts are fitting looser this season, and with a high and rather conservative neckline (sometimes a mild scoop or 'v'). meanwhile, brazilian site chic gloria kalil opined that triton is becoming one of são paulo fashion week's hotter tickets, with an exceptional eye on the textile front and a vintage-y flavour running strong this season. i'd tend to agree and to point out that there was a certain seventies (by way of the nineties) vibe that cropped up now and again, particularly in the pajama-y coordinating (or contrasting) pant-and-trouser sets (as third from below, or on debora muller, third from above) and on a chocolate and bone letterman's-style bomber jacket fabiana mayer wore. the very picture of a chic retro co-ed, no?
the student-y notions were carried through, as the site terra points out, in the oversized sweaters worn over not-too-short miniskirts (as on alicia kuczman, above), the backpacks, and the aformentioned platform shoes, as well as the track pants and satchel-like bags. they also noted that the beauty styling--headed up by the ubiquitous robert estevão--was kept pretty minimal (as the trend in brazil has been strongly leaning this season), with hair parted in the middle (seventies/nineties-style), and (trans.) "'clean' make-up that meant that the models' parade of faces were mostly sunny." if there was a moment i didn't get, it would be that there were a few hints of flapper-isms, particularly in that lovely cadet blue dress (fourth from above), and maybe, on closer inspection, anastasia's blouse at bottom that i previously thought was punky. i liked them very well, but...i'm not sure they fit with the overall rest of the show's tone.
that said, however, there was very little else to displease in the show. most of the pieces were quite wearable, and there was plenty to suit even the older girl, provided that she pick apart some of the looks and style them in her own manner. the prints were lively, the cuts lovely, and it was refreshing to finally see a collection orientated towards the younger demographic without being a parade of t-and-a on display. not that sexy isn't fine, but actually, ms. fuke did a pretty rousing good job of bringing up alluring moments (as above), without ever getting anywhere near the word vulgar. it helped once more to solidify triton's position as an interesting label and a hot ticket on the spfw schedule. maybe that's why they've now realized they don't need paris hilton at all. the clothes have their own appeal, and it's more than enough to get the customers coming back to see more (see additional images at vogue).
(watch the full runway show video here)
