Collection SS2016: Modernisme tropical

The first carré from Sao Paulo-born artist Filipe Jardim captures ‘his’ Brazil – a Brazil of the imagination and reality, too, with its distinctive, resolutely modernist architectural landscape. 

The richly-detailed, vibrant composition superimposes the curves of Brasilia (the new capital, inaugurated in 1960) and the strict, angular forms of the Paulista school, a grouping of architects from the city of Sao Paulo.  But Brazil is a jungle nation, too – the mata atlantica is the country’s Atlantic tropical forest.  Banana, aloe vera, and alocasia leaves are entwined in this astonishing, seductive portrait.

Collection SS2010: Brazil II

Long overdue is the charming "Brazil" design with its delicate feather-based gear inspired from the ornamentations of Amazonian Indians.  Today's post focuses on the reinterpretation of an older design, with a fresh scarf focusing on a close-up detail of the original.

People's (and peoples') fascination with self-built gear is evident in the many cultures where adorning various body parts continues to be a central element of local cultures.  As a species of the animal kingdom, man is the only "animal" lacking feathers or fur to protect its body from the weather's vicissitudes.  First, we seek to cover our sexual organs.  Yet, the drive to cover our bodies is not stemming from mere modesty.  Since our birth (and the original creation), we sense that we're lacking something - something we end up seeking (often relentlessly) to make ourselves beautiful throughout our entire lives.

As "naked apes", we have retained a single natural vestige that we - men and women alike - use to express grace, sensuality, seduction (think of a geisha's hair), as well as courage and virility (consider the military-style haircut).  When expressing ourselves through a hair arrangement or haircut is no longer enough, we appeal to feathers as embellishments or, symbolically, as complements to our bodies, elements that we seize on to transform ourselves.  The delicate feather becomes a powerful symbol of power, social position or courtship ritual.  Nowhere is this more obvious than the peacock's giant fan, nothing short of a marvel of transformation, to signal its moods. 

Collection SS2010: Brazil

Last week I spoke about embellishments, so I thought it appropriate for this post to explore teh theme fo ornaments, the many objects we make a part of our own to enhance a certain trait (such as our eyes or lips), or as a wardrobe accessory – all for the purpose of to enhancing our appearance and embellishing our look.

The focal point of this scarf is the "dress”, made exclusively of natural feathers, used by native Amazon Indians as an item of clothing.  Depicted in the each of the corners of the scarf is a matching tiara, a head crown of feathers that complete the costumes.  And speaking of costumes, these elements have been highly employed in the Rio Carnival, touted as the biggest on Earth, where countless costumes are featured annually, as a reflection of the native Indians’ cultures.

First released as part of the FW1988 collection, it was reissued in 1991, 1999, 2000, 2006 (in gavroche size, depicted above) and again in 2009.  Of interest is the reissue of this design as a detail of the original (depicted below), in 2001 and again in 2010 (in the gavroche and 140cm silk mousseline sizes).

This scarf ties beautifully and invites the admirer to discover its story and its history.