What better way for Alejandro Gómez Palomo to celebrate his move to the Spanish capital and launch of ready-to-wear (this was his second collection) than to stage a runway show on the first day of Madrid Fashion Week? “Eighteen,” the title of the show, marks the number of collections the designer has made and speaks to the coming of age narrative that Palomo explored for spring.
The transition from the shelter of home out into the world is one that the designer, at 33, is living in real time. (He had been working from his village since returning to Spain from London.) “I need that bit of independence,” he said on a call. “It’s time for me to be a man of responsibilities.” The models, in contrast, seemed entirely carefree. The idea was to show characters who are “still being dressed proper”—as Spanish children tend to be, the designer noted—“but having something really dirty inside; something that’s so curious, that’s so different to what you were brought up with.” Apart from the Gummo-like rabbit ear hats, by Vivas Carrión, there were no evident signs of transgression in this rather sweet offering. The opening looks were white, perhaps representing a new start, and Palomo likened some of the designs to Christening gowns. Adding to a sense of youthful innocence were babydoll silhouettes and a mostly pastel palette. The influence of Sophia Coppola’s films, which the team had been looking at, was most evident in the looks at the end with 18th-century-style motifs rendered in Swarovski crystals. The hard/adult aspect, which was difficult to find, was expressed through the use of leather.
Not only did the straightforward sweetness of this collection seem to present only half the story Palomo set out to tell, but it was an about face from his previous, important and needle-moving explorations of gender. There’s no bigger compliment for a designer than to have someone choose their clothes, but, as Palomo noted, “putting men in dresses is pushing boundaries a lot and it is what I do best, but you’d never see them on a red carpet.” Though women bought the line in the past, he continued, they always had questions: “‘Is this made for me? Does it fit me? Can I wear this?’ And I think we’re just trying to get rid of all those questions,” he added. This makes sound business sense, of course, but it was the way Palomo made you think about sartorial conventions that was exciting.
These are early days for the designer in ready-to-wear. He correctly noted: “There is volume and there is glamour and fun. It is a very chic kind of girly, glamorous collection.” There was also optimism, which is in short supply these days. “If we had to reflect what’s happening in the world, it would be just like a sad, dark collection,” Palomo said. “I think as a reaction to that, we kind of create a reality that isn’t necessarily too real. It’s not that we’re saving the world, but at least we’re trying to tell people that there can be a better one.”
