Elle Canada - The Elle Word

A look from Walter Rodrigues's collection. Image courtesy of Fotosite.

Amish-punk chic, with a touch of boho flair, were the hallmarks of Sao Paulo-based designer Walter Rodrigues’ fall/winter showing at Rio Fashion Week. The minimalist and modest look of the long black skirts, white buttoned-up shirts and cropped three-quarter jackets were offset by boyish combat boots. The initial pieces were a somber black and white, but these quiet silhouettes were re-imagined in bold prints, with bright red and orange hues. The Amish-looking black caps were also replaced with bright patterned scarves.

The inspiration for the collection came from Rodrigues’ favourite film, The White Ribbon by Austrian director Michael Haneke. “I saw this collection through the same black and white lens as the film, but then through my own lens I added in the red, orange and blue colours. I have never been to an Amish colony but I just love this look. The simplicity of it; the lack of exaggeration and complication.” Read the rest of this entry

Maria Bonita Extra's short hemlines. Image courtesy of Fotosite.

It will take gorgeous gams and a Girl-from-Ipanema attitude to carry off the mini-hemlines at Maria Bonita Extra. The Parisian-flavoured cocktail dresses came in exaggerated bubble silhouettes and shifts with tulle fringes. Katia Wille designed the Extra line, which is the more affordable collection under the Maria Bonita label.

Backstage, Wille told me how excited she was to be asked to design this collection to mark its 21st anniversary. “I worked with them 10 years ago, but came back to do this collection, which is based on the very best of the designs over the past two decades. The challenge was to take classic pieces, like the cashmere dresses, shirtdresses and puff skirts, and give them a new life – a new future. Tonight they’re back on the catwalk with a stronger attitude.”

And who’s the client? “She’s a young woman—or a woman of any age who loves to wear very short skirts! She’s pure of heart, but she wants to make an impression.” One of those women is Priscila Machado, Miss Brazil 2011. “It’s a very feminine brand,” she said, backstage with Wille. “It shows off a woman’s body without showing off too much. We look hot, but sophisticated hot!”

Read the rest of this entry

Urban adventure at 2nd Floor

Moments after the first model appeared on the 2^nd Floor runway wearing a faux fur jacket, the style wags in the front row were grumbling. “Oh dear, hedgehog roadkill!” Another whispered that Suzy Menkes once told him that “she puts away her notebook if a show opens with red and black.”  (To be fair—or kind—the red in the model’s skirt was more of a tomato orange.) With its “fun” fur jackets, shirt dresses with faux croc collars and leather-quilted shorts, this collection–which was an homage to Robin Hood–is for the urban adventurer with a taste for folkloric-inspired synthetic style. Read the rest of this entry