Vinayaka By Karine
Had a working morning blogging from my charming hotel, Geneve, in the quaint Zona Rosa or Pink Zone, the old literati area of town at the turn of the century. Winston Churchill and William Randolph Hearst used to call this place home so it suits me just fine.
Later I had an interesting lunch with editors at Ligaya. I sat with a festive groups of girls from Harper’s Bazaar, Quien, Reforma and 192. We had a great discussion over the world of blogs, the numerous fashion weeks here in Mexico City (condense!) and my urgent need to eat a taco. The girls rallied around my plea and ordered my host Oscar (see him as a judge on the new Mexico’s Next Top Model) to take me to one of their favorite places tonight for tacos not made from any mystery meat. Gracias chicas!
(R) Fashion Group International (L) Love is Back
Final day of shows!
First show of the final day was from Fashion Group International (FGI) of Mexico City.
Each year FGI selects a well known designer to inspire the students. This year it was Zandra Rhodes. Zandra came to Mexico in March and picked the best designers and then came back and picked the winner who heads to Florence to study fashion for the summer. The finalists showed their pieces today and the winner was announced. There was a plethora of color, great patterns and more ruffles. Matthew Williamson better come down here and scoop up some design interns! I’m continually amazed at the quality of the designs I have seen. No buttons popping or threads hanging here.
Next up was Vinayaka by Karine. Now this is what I expected in Mexico. Big tatas! Animal prints! Barely there duds! The swimwear line was an amusing addition to the week and surely gave all the hombres something to dream about. The ready to wear was fairly festive but the bathing suits were certainly my pick.
Love is Back is one I’ve been looking forward to. I met the designer yesterday and not only is he in Mexico GQ’s top 50 tastemakers, but he is super charming. He put on quite a show with a live DJ, electric guitar and projections. The clothes were very wearable: polos, cargo shorts and hoodies all with dashes of whimsy that lend a personal touch. For the record, he had the hottest model casting of the week.
Que Pegue tiene!
(L) Morgana presents Neverland (R) Ocho by Jose Maria Torres
Morgana presented Neverland, a show in homage to the King of Pop. There were boys in ombre jumpsuits and girls in Mugler-esque blazers. Lots of white socks, loafers and zippers. It was great to see someone just go ahead and do what everyone else has been hinting at since January. All Jacko!
The final show was a blowout. Ocho is ‘designed’ by Jose Maria Torres, a former TV star nicknamed Chema, so all sorts of paparazzi and big hair were present. He kicked off with swimwear for guys and gals that was fairly safe in navy and cream and then moved on to topless men in denim followed by a serving of sportswear for both sexes, including men in pink trousers and women in oddly designed plaid dresses with Judy Jetson shoulder protrusions. Let’s let the actors keep acting and leave this to the pros or at least those aspiring to make it big. Better design can be found in the smaller lines who live and breathe fashion.
At 11:30 the fashion week wrapped up and we headed to the after party. Dinner was somehow overlooked so this starving contributor had to drink his way to forgetting hunger pains. WHERE’S MY TACO PEOPLE? I meet up with Carlos, a friend from New York, and his boyfriend, Raul, and we piled in their car with friends and zipped over to the venue. Yet again I’m bedazzled by this over the top city. El Cine is one hell of a venue and I love the waiters in white shirts and bow ties. How swish! After several drinks and a shimmy, the boys insisted on taking me to a place called The Eleanor. There was a strict doorman and we had to call three people to get in. Let’s just say it was tiny and everyone was pretty and wasted. Sound familiar? It’s The Beatrice of Mexico! There was even a neon sign blinking the name. How crowded was it? So crammed that my rear pocket button got stuck in a gal’s Missoni dress. We had three people with lighters next to my rump untangling us. On that note we skidaddled. I headed home to rest. I’m taking two days to explore more of Mexico than just fashion shows and finally eat as many tacos as my stomach will allow.
Hey DFashion – Thanks for an amazing three days but next time take the press for a Mexican meltdown dinner and bring a Mariachi band!
Hasta Luego!
