Luis Buchinho #PFW SS16
Article by Frank Cierpial
As a contributor to this blog, there are times when I feel nostalgic. I look back into the archives and dig out articles that Melissa wrote that I really enjoyed, or that other contributors wrote that I really enjoyed, and of course I love to look at the evolution of my work. Fashion Week is my favorite “holiday”, because it is a time where the evolution of work is celebrated. We fashionistas gather to celebrate designers and it is a time where we can live in their creative world and forget the world around us.
Luis Buchinho has been for a long time one of our favorites here at Prête-Moi Paris. The evolution of his art is simply amazing, and I urge every single one of you to go back into the archives and dig out Melissa’s articles on him as he is a gifted designer.
Luis Buchinho AW13/14 (with video interview)
Even though I unfortunately did not see his show through a series of circumstances and obstacles, I did get a chance to sit down and talk to this captivating designer just following his runway show, about his collection this time around and what inspired him this season. Mr. Buchinho told me that he is celebrating an anniversary in Fashion this year, so he decided to follow up on his winter collection for which the primary inspiration was comic books, because that’s what got him interested in drawing. Pop bands made him interested in fashion.
His inspiration was drawn from the imagery in his memories of neoromantic bands, and German pop culture magazines. He went on to tell me that all of the prints and cuts were made from fragments of this, and all of the graphics were inspired by pop albums of that time. He then went on to say that he took this nostalgic theme and made it “in a very modern and very contemporary kind of way ». As someone like myself who loves 80’s music from Rick Astley to Motley Crüe, the anticipation of knowing which bands inspired him in particular was too much to resist so I asked him. He said that Duran Duran was very influential to him especially in the first part of the show, and he payed homage to the video by Duran Duran called The Chauffeur.
After I had the interview and I was able to sit down and look at the photos, I saw it immediately. His collection was full of cuts, styles, bright colors, and styles from the 80’s. His collection was a real trip back to that era and back to the origins of a designer. This whole experience really touched me, because it is important fro everyone to be nostalgic on some level. Looking back shows you have far you’ve come and how far you can go in the future. As you all know, I do not like to take sides, but Mr. Buchinho takes the crown this Fashion Week as his collection was beautiful and touching all at the same time. So, I say « Parabens » Mr. Buchinho which in Portuguese means “congratulations”, but also means Happy Birthday!
