After a one-off show in London last season, Marta Marques and Paolo Almeida returned to Portugal’s homeland. But don’t let this runway shot fool you. This “performance” is set in the middle of sunny vineyards without guests. The Portuguese Tourism Commission invites designers to introduce one of its collections in the country. Leave it to this creative duo and turn their lookbook into an advertising campaign for a Portuguese vacation.
On the temporary runway, the Marques’almeida series looks more complicated than usual. “This is not a traditionally elegant collection,” Almeida announced to Almeida, whose studio called for a well-deserved August holiday in a few hours, “but a little adult as adults, we were still young at the beginning!”
As far as Almeida is concerned, the designers have nothing formal about the elegant new landscape. For beginners, they show it outside, surrounded by nature and grass, which informs more pragmatic footwear options. These days, few designers can make a convincing peplum (a thing that doesn’t look like 2012), that is – but there are spades available here. Night rolls and frizzes are often paired with grungy pickled denim, or form light, unquestionable shapes (including some great pajama-style sets). Even though the designers themselves are mature, OG Marques’almeida’s spirit remains intact.
“We started out doing something we wouldn’t do or thought about,” Almeida said, saying of the long, dotted sheaths and a lovely flared skirt of the lineup. Age looks good on them – don’t you want to be a mature person regardless of those stylish curtains and balloon tops?
