“I was going back to my childhood,” explained Alejandro Gómez Palomo backstage post-show. “The freedom I had when I was a kid, going through my mom’s wardrobe. Making a dress out of a bed sheet and putting on a towel around your head for long hair.”
An innocent inspiration that yielded big ideas for Palomo’s fall collection, which was full of frothy historical references; interesting ideas on texture; bright colors and patterns, and unexpected silhouettes. “It’s a moment when you really don’t have any prejudice of gender or size.” he said. “It was just looking at fashion in a very innocent, naive way.”
Look one was a white boxy textured sleeveless minidress with green leaf appliques worn over a striped elastic rollneck and paired with knee-high, flat pointed boots with bow details. It began a run of a show full of fantastical creations that played to the childlike joy of fashion with no constraints. He cast models across all gender expressions, underscoring, for example, that a floor-length nightgown-like dress in stripes under a bomber jacket is meant for whoever wants to wear it. There were unexpected tactile moments, like a mint green topcoat with mega lapels and matching raver pant, or a loose blue terry cloth smoking jacket suit with mega stovepipe pants with cuffs.
In a short time Palomo has gained traction by upending the traditional conversation on male dress by injecting exuberant historical references from his native Spain, queer counterculture, and even Renaissance painters’ iconography, all a way of exploring the spectrum of modern “masculine” dress. Toward the end of the show came a few asymmetric Grecian-style floor-sweeping looks with high-cut slits and twisted details over the clavicle, along with a few frothy ruffle dresses with white tights. These leaned into Palomo’s sensual side, eye-catching for a night out dancing or a special event.
Last year his collaboration with Puma created a lot of buzz and he showed a few looks with those sneakers, reporting that new styles will be unveiled in the coming weeks. “Apparently we are a match made in heaven,” he said sheepishly.
Source: WWD