International Designers Mexico Spring Summer 2011 - Part I

Busy days, lazy days! I have no excuse for not writing these days 'cause actually there has been a lot going on around México City and I got a little delayed blogging about the IDM Fashion Week... But, better late than never.

Four days, full of designers. Some with interesting proposals, some... hmmm... a little lame or maybe too conceptual to be on a ready-to-wear catwalk. To name a few: Nimismequi, Paola Hernándes, Doce.Cero.Tres, Marvin & Quetzal, Macario Jiménez, Lola de Alejandro, César Arellanes, Mancandy and (my favorite) Natalie Amkie.

I spent one day at backstage where I met one of the new talents on IDM: Natalie Amkie. In my opinion, one of the best designers who presented this season. Working with a great color palette, classic at some point, but mixing edgy materials like draped leather, chiffon, ostrich, gems, crystals, many details and cuts that made her clothes stood up.

Interesting designs and a new talent! Like I said, my favorite. A very mature collection for a new comer. Here are some photos from her backstage.

Too many designers and I don't want to make this entry long and boring, so I rather focus on what I thought were the highlights on the IDM. So next one was Marvin & Quetzal. For many it was just a clownish show, for me, it's a nice proposal, a fun one. Lots a materials mixed, plus random silhouettes that kept the audience interested (or criticizing).

Denim, lace, ruffles, big sleeves, teddy bears (as headpieces) and pastel palette made this collection fun to watch. We all love different things and at the end there's always a target for what you make. In this case, Marvin created pieces that I could picture them more Tokyo than in México or any latinamerican country. Some people think that is almost like a joke. Instead, I think that they're trying to keep a funny side in fashion and like or not, fashion needs it. Just think of designer like Betsey Johnson, Castelbajac, House of Holland or Jeremy Scott. They have that "something" that makes people smile when seeing their creations.

Then came another one that made my night: César Arellanes. Another great collection with a lot of mind set into it. The first model came out and the whole look was shocking (in a good way), great styling, great headpieces and clothes with lots of details and mix of fabrics. "Ethni-city", name of the collection, was created with leather, chiffons, panels, cut outs, etc. One of the funniest things on this catwalk were the bags, with the shape of fishes and giant chamaleons. I'm not a fan of ethnic things, but this dresses from Arellanes were like an avant-garde ethnic and I loved it. It was a colorfull runway with lots of texture and eye catching.

As a newbie in IDM Fashion Week, there's lots of things I saw and that I want to share with you, so this is just part I. Tomorrow or someday I'll upload some of the videos and photos I took so you can get an idea of how's fashion in México, which I think is growing, it's not on its fullest, but at least it's developing and there's people to watch, to write about it, lots of magazines to cover the shows. Great experience I must say and this is just the beginning.