For her sophmore show as a guest on the couture calendar, Spanish designer Juana Martin continued to express her pride in her Andalusian gypsy heritage through her brand founded in 1999.
This was clear from the first clack of the heels of flamenco dancer Rubén Molina, who kicked off the show with a rousing performance.
Casting back to childhood summers spent near Málaga, a port city on the southern Spanish Costa del Sol, Martin took the light reflecting on every surface from the city to the sea as the starting point for her collection.
Out came a lineup in which the shoulder line was the lynchpin of each silhouette, ranging from the opening chiffon gown with its curving sculptural sleeves, decked in polka dots that nodded to flamenco outfits, to oversize jackets with an ‘80s shoulder worn as minidresses.
“Working with volumes is both what I’ve always seen in haute couture but also part of my culture, my roots as a Gypsy woman,” she said through a translator, pointing to giant tumbling ruffles that evoked a dancer mid-spin.
Denim dominated, since she felt that it best embodied that summer feeling. Martin also wanted an idea of ease, recasting casual fare of crop tops and baggy trousers as bedazzled and dramatic couture items.
This was “couture to be lived in, one in which you can feel more, you can live more,” Martin said. If you can get through the door with those giant rosettes on your shoulder, that is.