SPECIAL FEATURE. ‘SIMOF 2008’
FLAMENCO FASHION SHOW
Passion and ingenuity to revive
the past of the flamenco dress
Susana Muñoz Bolaños. Seville, February
2008
Translation: Joseph Kopec
The ‘SIMOF 2008’
International Flamenco Fashion Show, held in Seville,
has just demonstrated for yet another year that the flamenco
dress is more alive than ever and that the daring and
ingenuity of young creators combine perfectly with the
experience and passion of the more veteran ones.
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Lalo Tejada on Simof
2008
(Photo Luis Serrano) |
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Passion, a lot of passion, and a potent
dose of ingenuity to reinvent year after year the only
regional dress subject to the comings and goings of fashion.
That’s what flamenco fashion exudes, at least that
which could be seen throughout the four days of the fourteenth
edition of SIMOF, held from January 31st to February 3rd,
2008 in Seville. The over 1400 flamenco dresses on the
catwalk, throughout 32 parades showcasing the creations
of 40 professionals, besides the proposals of eight young
designers, provided a good example of it. Moreover, the
35,000 visitors who stopped by the stands of over 90 exhibiting
firms confirm a new triumph for the show.
On the catwalk, great Spanish models
such as Laura Sánchez, María José
Suárez and Elizabeth Reyes rubbed shoulders with
the power of the most flamenco artists of the likes of
Marina
Heredia, Alba Molina and Milagros
Mengíbar. In the background, the most appropriate
music, nearly always flamenco; fandangos, sevillanas,
bulerías, seguiriyas..., the great voices of the
deceased Rocío Jurado and Lola Flores, but also
the songs of Edith Piaf and Luz Casal. Live, the performances
of rociero choirs, but above all the art of Rocío
Cortés, the power of Macarena Giráldez and
Lalo Tejada, the peculiar cante of Falete and the baile
of La
Farruca, which filled with strength the comings and
goings of the 1400 flamenco dresses that were seen there.
‘SIMOF 2008’ Flamenco
Fashion Show (Photo Luis Serrano)
Amidst the audience, bailaoras and bailaores,
like Matilde
Coral, cantaoras and cantaores, plus countless singers,
business people, models, bullfighters, soccer players,
celebrities from the social circuit and show business,
a healthy representation from Japan among a growing crowd
and a sizeable celebrity press. Its presence confirmed
that SIMOF is also a genuine social event and a really
big show. With staging that is more and more elaborate
and stylized, none of the traditional elements at any
fashion show is missing: glamour, music, designs, and
a great deal of interest on the part of a growing audience.
From creative youth...
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‘SIMOF 2008’
Flamenco Fashion Show (Photo Luis Serrano) |
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Next year, SIMOF will turn fifteen years
old. A long existence in which it has remained firm in
its task of promoting and developing the sector of flamenco
fashion and its industrial network. The Young Designers
Contest inaugurating the edition once again demonstrated
that youth is not incompatible with creativity. In a selection
of some thirty participants, eight were chosen and just
one won a prize: Curro Durán Ríos with ‘Illo
y Romero, Sevilla y Ronda’, a title recalling the
latest album by Marina Heredia, ‘La
voz del agua’. Inspired by Seville’s Fair
and the art from Ronda, the young Málaga-born designer
presented a collection of dresses with tight-fitting bodies
and dresses with a wide flare, which ended up convincing
the members of a jury that has a harder and harder time
every year deciding on the name of the winning collection.
... to recognized creators
A total of forty recognized creators
displayed their designs, demonstrating that there are
no limits when ingenuity, experience and passion are placed
at the service of creation. The professional parade was
inaugurated by a nearly bullfighting name. The one in
charge: Vicky Martín Berrocal, who presented her
collection ‘Va por ti’, dedicated to Valentino,
on a stage full of red rose petals and to the beat of
the tango ‘Volver’.
A spectacular Laura Sánchez, wrapped up in a not
less spectacular red dress, opened the parade. She was
followed by a dozen dresses in different red fabrics,
in which imagination stood out while designing the sleeves.
Following the tribute to Valentino, white was the star,
giving way to more serious designs in green and every
shade of brown, a series of dresses with a romantic cut
in pearl grey lace and as icing on the cake, a spectacular
wedding dress in semi-transparent old gold which received
a standing ovation from the audience.
‘SIMOF 2008’ Flamenco
Fashion Show (Photo Luis Serrano)
After it, Sevillian Luisa Pérez
took over with ‘Ópera prima’, a becoming,
colorful collection featuring the use of fabrics similar
to those of party dresses. Elsewhere, with ‘Impulso’,
Margarita Freire dressed a sensual woman with low waists,
long sleeves, shirts and sashes. The firm Sugérele
succeeded in its most rociero facet, bringing Falete and
Macarena Giráldez up on stage, while Huelva-born
Paco Prieto mixed different fabrics with backgrounds inspired
in the seventies. Then in the final stretch, Manuela Berro
displayed everything that can be done with embroidered
fabrics from India, culminating the day with the baile
of La Farruca.
Lalo Tejada on Simof
2008
(Photo Luis Serrano) |
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On the second day, Cristo Báñez
was surprising with a functional collection entitled ‘Almonte’,
following last year’s urban flamenco women. Especially
eye-catching was his bet on the contrast between intense
colors, as well as the combination of diverse textures.
Old, processional Seville was the inspiration for Aurora
Gaviño in ‘Alma: azahar y lis’, where
the religious and the profane went hand-in-hand imbued
with the sparkle of ancient civilizations. Shawls, lace,
velvet and brocade with golden patterns were the chosen
fabrics.
The firm Sevillanía resorted to
silk, lace, poplin and pierced fabrics to capture the
memories of the flamenco women of their childhood and
to dress a sensual, feminine woman. Málaga-born
Melisa Lozano did not go unnoticed with two experimental
dresses: one with a paper base with little colored balls
of cotton and gold with popcorn. Pepe Jiménez,
El Ajolí, proposed a traditional vision of the
flamenco dress and Mari Carmen Cruz and Ángeles
Espinar displayed their long experience with elegant dresses
and exclusive Manila
shawls. Loli Vera, on her part, bet on skirts, shirts
with short jackets and turned-up necks, while Huelva-born
Sergio Vidal closed the day with a heterogeneous series
and an applauded show recalling the Spanish Court of Carlos
V.
In ‘Mil y una gitanas’, Córdoba-born
Juana Martín presented a collection full of life,
color, motion and innovation, concepts which give the
designs a trademark of their own: that of an urban flamenco
woman. As a detail, the flamenco-style trousers. On her
part, Pilar Vera presented ‘Ida y vuelta’,
a fusion between Andalusia and the Caribbean. She alternated
traditional dresses with more daring touches, like the
necks for shirts, in a parade closed by Macarena Giráldez.
After her, Ángeles Verano once again displayed
her personal trademark of craftsmanship with ‘Abanícame’,
a parade including the participation of Alba Molina, bailaora
Lalo
Tejada and cantaora Marina Heredia. The asymmetries
in the ruffles and the diversity of the necklines and
sleeves are blended in a magnificent collection of dresses,
skirts and blouses.
Alba Molina on Simof 2008
(Photo Luis Serrano)
The day also included Luchi Cabrera,
who paid tribute to the copla in a collection based on
rich fabrics with which she wants to renew the image of
the flamenco dress. The firm Nuevo Montecarlo bets on
ruffles with a lot of volume and waistlines adapted to
each woman, while Charo Vara is inspired by party dresses
and old-time romerías. Reminiscence and Goya-style
details highlighted Pitusa Gasul’s collection, while
Basi del Río’s collection focused on white.
Nuria López on
Simof 2008
(Photo Luis Serrano) |
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The matchless Lina filled SIMOF’s
final day with the pure essence of Seville. With her collection
‘Nací en Sevilla’, she again demonstrated
that she has known perfectly well how to understand the
flamenco dress, as is evident in her 50 years devoted
to creating fashion. Inspired by the flamenco and the
eternal, she presented a collection of elegant lines highlighted
by two marvelous batas de cola brought to life by bailaoras
Luisa Palicio and Milagros Mengíbar.
Opposite Lina’s long-time experience,
the youth of José María Cañavate,
who presented elegant dresses in white and red inspired
by the flamenco culture of 1960 with ‘Los canasteros’.
Carmen Latorre has also been making flamenco dresses for
over 40 years. For ‘Can Can flamenco’, she
was inspired by the nights at the Moulin Rouge, the French
streets and paintings by Toulouse Lautrec. A pioneer in
the design and commercialization of flamenco fashion,
Creaciones Mari Cruz bet on volume and motion on the catwalk.
The day was completed with parades by Lorenzo Cáceres,
Rosalía Zahino and Sauco, Angradema López,
Mariví Salmerón and Sara de Benítes.
2008
Guide to Flamenco Trends
