Lyre Valiente Madrid Fashion Week S/S 2013
We all know that fashion shows are often eccentric and original like the garments that are presented during the event. However, the Lyre Valiente show was beyond eccentric. The atmosphere was basic, almost aseptic, with two Gothic-like capsules positioned at the beginning of the runway, but the music created the perfect atmosphere for a collection with a fancy name – Chimaera. According to the Greek Mythology the cimaira (Ancient Greek for Chimaera) is a fire-breathing female monster with a lion's head, a goat's body, and a serpent's tail; according to a more realistic (and Biology) meaning, the Chimaera is an organism containing a mixture of genetically different tissues, formed by processes such as fusion of early embryos, grafting, or mutation. This is Valiente collection, a fantastic and metaphorical journey that we all face from a pure and uncomplicated fetus to Chimaera- the complicate but beautiful monster we get to be when we grow up. The music during the show was a crescendo of symphonies that inspired suspense waiting for the transformation. With the appearance of color on the catwalk the sounds turned into electronic, to finish in almost celestial songs to accompany the super well-cut gowns. The hairstyle of the models, with their hair in a braid, recalled the shell of a caterpillar, ready for its evolution.
The Spanish designer began her career studying Audiovisual Communication at the Rey Juan Carlos School, where she focused on costume design and history of fashion. After her graduation, she went on to study Fashion Design at the European Institute of Design, and received wide spread recognition for her graduate collection.
Her Chimaera is a dramatic and sensational collection, which is not constituted only by the garments but also by a set of audiovisual material of considerable impact. The pieces are supported by a series of black and white photographs, produced in collaboration with Micheal Ostermann and Davinci White, and a fashion movie that has reached the finalist stage at the Berlin Fashion Film Festival.
The collection is a climax of colors, from beige and black to gold, red and turquoise green. It is a clash of fabrics- chiffon and silk versus leather, taffeta and micro nets which represent the sensitivity of the sensual female body and the strong feminine attitude through structures that unfold armors-like tops to shoulder height. Her designs embody perfectly the Greek Chimaera, with textures that emulate veins and bones in the body, taking inspiration from the figure of a dragoon. The garments fits the models like they were mutants emerged from wounds, with indelible traumas and obsessions like a damned and mysterious creature which hangs in the dark.
Valiente was inspired by movies like Alien, Existenz, Species and artists like HR Giger and Ray Harryhausen. Certainly her latest collection is a set of styles that take something from the learning experience of the designer. She worked at Yono Taola in 2010, at Alexander McQueen in 2011 and in Loewe in 2012. Chimaera is an ensemble of amazing sculptural costumes that is hard to define “prêt-à-porter”, but more like pieces bordering haute couture thanks to her dedication to well-researched design.
She says that fashion for her is a mean of expression, like an artist expressing with his painting, she expresses through sewing. Her creative process starts with a very conceptual and abstract thought rather than a fashion moment, an icon or a definite style. This gives her more flexibility and freedom while creating.
Leyre Valiente style is something new that break the mold, a never-seen that seem to satisfy the magical world that combines fashion, art and science fiction. With her fertile and strong creativity Valiente sells talent through her imaginary monster.
For lovers of fashion, art or science fiction, Leyre Valiente is a window through which to look to escape the monotony and notice that Madrid has a lot to offer in the matter of fashion.
