Luis Buicinho AW 2012

Luis Buicinho, after two decades, is now a household name in the Portuguese fashion scene. He is well known for his boundary breaking designs that accentuate femininity in an urban context. His proposal for the Winter 2013 season, presented on the first day of ModaLisboa, is a geometric and linear flurry that is certainly not lacking in neither elegance nor muliebrity.
Contained in forty feisty looks, the collection was inspired by the same streets women walk upon everyday. The predominance of aphotic colors and the ‘block’ patterns reflect the distinctive traditional Portuguese streets fabricated out of stone, called calçadas.

Due to this novel source of inspiration, the aesthetic lines are straight and geometric. However, due to the intricacy of the cuts, the lines demand a re-evaluation of our perspectives of certain staples: grey shorts romancing to be a skirt with angular flaps towards the inner thigh, a pencil skirt that has been peeled from its seams to resemble a dark blossoming flower, jackets that are torn between the straight lines and the inevitable light peplum construction at their hems, and so forth.

The silhouettes are constantly emblazoned with lines around the waist. Although the constructions were the most appealing of pieces, the collection explored suave mini and maxi length dresses as well as engaging oversized sweaters ands jackets.
The color palette came straight out of a fantasy of a nebulous concrete jungle by the sea: black, stone and gray tones clashed harmoniously with white, navy and dark blue. However, the colors aren’t the final aspect of the contrasts created by Buchinho. The fabrics are also a mix between the natural and the synthetic: crepe silk, wool crepe, double featherweight wool tweeds and wool crepes are freely combined with polyester and nylon lacquered effects. The printed digital patterns continue along the orginal calçada theme.

The array of metaphors presented by Luis Buchinho instantly transform this collection into a parading work of art. His agility when it comes to designing pieces that are extravagant in form is proven by the array of women that can wear his clothes. From young fresh faced models to more mature business women, his collection can always charm the elegant, cosmopolitan wardrobe that every true lady seeks.