fashion rio: ágatha
(images via ffw)
after a s/s 2012 debut at fashion rio that left me quite impressed, i'll be very honest and say that i personally wasn't as drawn to ágatha's follow-up effort for the f/w 2012 season. however, that's probably a good thing, as it gives me something to question in lieu of all these 'i love it!' proclamations that have been going on around opt for the brazilian designers. besides, sometimes a little skepticism can be a good thing, as it helps us to look deeper. interesting, some of my eventual favourite collections turn out to be those i had a negative reaction to at first, leading me to question, to look harder, to try to understand my perceptions and so on (marc jacobs, in his heyday, used to evoke these feelings in me).
it was fitting then, that, as ffw reports, designer ceiça gioielli (trans.) "wanted to explore the universe of the gaze: external and internal." they picked something similarly heady last time around, but the brazilian site terra seemed to dissent a little bit from this opinion, writing that the range was actually about (trans.) "look[ing] at the world of nature and the universe to create the urban winter collection [and t]o provide the difference between the two environments." there was a lot of interplay between the textures of the materials, as well as some sporty motifs, so i could see the latter assertion being true, but given that it is ágatha, i'd wonder if we couldn't tie in the former as well. materials, wrote moda spot, were diverse and included lurex, knitwear, leather, metallics, denim, wool, feathers, and velvet, while the palette was quite restrained in shades of black, rust, ocher, white, and gray.
the brazilian site portais da moda pointed out that the label eschewed many of the current trends, putting low waists on pants and shorts, while letting the dresses and coats flow and allowing the knits to accumulate quite a lot of volume. meanwhile, they noticed that we saw some extravagant jewelry, ankle boots (rather mod-like, or so i thought), and visors rounding out the accessories category. chic gloria kalil trilled over the (trans.) "velvet party dresses," the "complete picture of winter," and the "(b)eautiful knitwear." and i will give them that the materials looked rich and that there was some interesting construction, with pieces a little more challenging than some of the sweet, but superficially-wearable stuff we've been seeing of late. but therein, or so i though, lay a certain problem: all of these thick knits were all-but-overwhelming the models' tiny frames, rounding them into strange and almost unsightly creatures (really, see what they've done to aline weber and daiane conterato, if you need confirmation on these points). so how will the rest of us fare?
the answer is that i'm not really sure. i want to be fair to ms. gioielli in pointing out that we most of us probably could wear those velvet frocks, the metallic slacks and dresses, the leathers, even some of the knits. but what really drew me to ágatha in the first place was that interesting juxtaposition between the artsy and never-before-seen and the, quite frankly, wearable, the collection offering a plethora of pieces that body types beyond the one the fashion industry sanctions would still be able to work with some conviction. but here the girls were bulked up in strange places and then unexpectedly reprieved--but again, most often in those parts not-so-flattering (as the upper thight) on most women. the truth is, i'd probably give them a pass if i knew they were going in for the art. but...i'm not really sure what it's all about, though i do have some reason to belive it's commercial. so maybe i'm wrong. but in the meantime, i guess we can just pick and choose as we so often do, and leave the rest to itself. that seems like the right thing to do, unless you're in the market for a cable-knit rusty leotard and giant visor. hey, i guess some people are.
(watch the full collection video here)