Reportage: © Ugo Camera
In Antonio García’s atelier (www.antoniogarcia.com.es), located in the 2nd of San Pedro Mártir in the very center of Seville, seems like nothing has happened. Life continues. Wedding dress fittings, the determined and wise master tailor’s hand giving his special gift to a dress that comes to live in a mannequin; the radio stimulating the morning stitching… But either through the open gates to the street or in Antonio and Fernando García’s hearts still lives the success achieved in the presentation of the “Eklektika” 2015 collection, in the Madrid Suit Museum within the MFSHOW Women catwalk.
There is a lot of fabric to cut and a lot of things to say of a collection with such a film inspiration. There was film in its background and shape. There was film in each sequence of the fashion show. And there was also film in the grand finale when the two creative directors came onto the scene. The rhythm was absolutely cinematographic in the shape and “glamour”. Much glamour in a very much Antonio García’s collection, which is the highest aspiration of any designer: get to be known for his job at first sight. These are dresses that remind to Madeleine Vionnet, “sculpted” in the body. That kind of dress became a banner for actresses in the starting days of Hollywood.
In “Eklektika” the best decades of the needlework walked down, as the 20s, the 40s, the 50s and the 60s, without forgetting some wink to the 80s because they are still ours and therefore they are still present in fashion. Tissues are the main point of every collection, and in this case they move from silk crêpe to natural chiffon trought neoprene, “paillettes” and mikado. “The texture and the way that the dress falls on the body are very important and they enhance the cadence in the women way of walking”, says Antonio García.
“Colors are black and white either separate or combined with a neutral base surrounding in taupe or pale pink and with a hit of pumpkin, Indian curry, turquoise or cyclamen. Details are hand embroidered with materials that I found in my last trip to Paris. Some of them were made in our atelier and others in a special atelier where Holly Week embroidery is made. We have combined tradition with innovation and the result is very typical from us and from Seville. And that is because our brand is handmade and a hundred per cent Spanish”.
Antonio García has been in an inseparable tandem from more than six years with his brother, Fernando, who has always been an important part of the brand though. Antonio believes that “glamour” is an attitude to life which counts on different weapons to express itself: fashion, beauty, style. These are the parts that shape their new collection where wedding dresses are the main protagonists. “Our wedding dresses demand has increased lately, maybe because we base our designs in a classical but well structured shape, with a contemporary hit”.
Spots are also part of this collection since the couple has always claimed a new vision of Andalusian stereotypes. Feet have dressed with Eva Ontanaya shoes designed specifically for Antonio García and made in Elda. The fashion show didn’t do anything for nothing and even the music had its stellar moment. “Yes, I do think that I have gained the respect of my colleagues. My career has been very sequent, I don’t belong to the bubble full of designers that depend on the press to sink or rise. In my case, what I’ve got I’ve got it working”.