An original dexterity with recycling and sustainability has today become the litmus test for designers breaking onto the market. Thankfully, long gone are the days when “eco-fashion” was plagued by images of hemp and tie-dye. The current design crop which La Riva, whose latest collection Ciclos was based on fabric reuse, is a part of, hinges upon resourcefulness and a thirst for the unique one-off piece. It is a mark of these changing tides that independent markets such as last month’s After Tea are now merging vintage clothing and independent design from La Riva and others to form a kind of shopping-social.
Barcelona’s individual streak seems to nurture this hands-on, grassroots attitude to fashion, or at least it has for Anaÿs La Riva. Her resume is as multi-dimensional as her clothing, which ranges from knitted neck pieces to cut out silk dresses with thickly woven cuffs, ‘80s shapes and ornate, boxy origami-inspired tops. She’s gone from a small boutique in Montpellier to high demand in New York and exhibited her creations behind glass cabinets at the Goethe-Institut in Berlin and the Negre Gallery in East London. Venezuela-born La Riva, who studied in Tampa, Florida and Berlin before setting her heart on Barcelona, has created her own luck with a democratic and worldly approach.
She may have shown at Bread & Butter and sold out at boutique Something For Everybody within the first week, but is also interested in less orthodox modes of exhibition, telling us of her plan to stage an open fashion parade on the streets. No wonder then that she cites the renegade likes of Vivienne Westwood and Alexander McQueen as her idols. A finer, silk-based collection will be underway as soon as she gets her hands on some smaller knitting-needles...
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Posted by armandoc November 21, 2011 23:43:47
unique
Posted by November 15, 2011 01:16:17