Latin fashion will once again enjoy its own forum in Europe within the framework of the Madrid International Fashion Fair (SIMM). For the fifth time, the LatinoAmerica Fashion Show will open its doors on 30th and 31st August within the framework of SIMM, at Feria de Madrid, in order to present the Spring-Summer 2008 collections of eight cutting-edge designers and present an overview of the latest fashion trends throughout the Latin American region.
At each of its editions, this forum has played a prominent role in terms of promoting the fashion ideas of Latin designers, helping to launch and disseminate their creations and becoming one of the best showcases for Latin American fashion in the world.
One indication of the growing importance of this event is the fact that it will inaugurate the international calendar of events for the industry this season. Furthermore, this is the only fashion show in Europe exclusively devoted to Latin American fashion.
The Programme at the fifth edition of the LatinoAmerica Fashion Show, which is structured around seven fashion parades, will open on 30th August at 5.30 p.m. with the Argentinean designer, Vero Ivaldi, who employs a technique based on patterning and pin lines and the body's contours to create designer pieces of almost architectural appeal.
On the same day, the Colombian designer, Olga Piedrahita, an habitual participant at the Fashion Show, will once again turn her fashion eye towards an entertaining, artistic and cutting-edge dimension, with each piece possessing its own history and forming part of a collection imbued with a strong sensibility. Simone Nunes, from Brazil, will close the day's programme of fashion parades.
Nunes will present her work at the LatinoAmerica Fashion Show for the first time, having taken part at the last edition of Sao Paulo Fashion Week, where her ultra-feminine creations were endowed with a series of references to space and time, as well as number of reinterpretations of these themes.
On Friday 31st August, the LatinoAmerica Fashion Show will commence with a joint fashion parade featuring Lina Cantillo (Colombia) and Trista (Mexico), two cutting-edge Latin designers who will be taking part at the fashion show for the first time.
Lina Cantillo is a men's fashion designer whose creations offer an appeal that is truly masculine, distinctive and unique. On this occasion, the designer will present Women's Fashion in LAF. Trista, for her part, has opted for an experimental type of fashion in terms of the materials and textures that are employed, featuring creations aimed at the urban woman but that also present an ethereal appeal.
In the afternoon, the LatinoAmerica Fashion Show will present the latest ideas from Julia y Renata (Mexico) two sisters who propose a type of fashion based on a sense of fun and exploration. Through experimentation on models, Julia y Renata create new shapes and silhouettes for the modern, cosmopolitan woman. On the same afternoon, Gloria Coelho (Brazil) will present a collection based on "fantasy and subjective reality".
Her designs are characterised by their perfect combination of history and fiction, based on a series of creations that transcend any particular era in order to acquire a timeless status.
Finally, Pablo Ramírez (Argentina) the winner of Centromoda Fashion Week Argentina, will enjoy the honour of closing this fifth edition of the LatinoAmerica Fashion Show, with his theatrical, elegant, rigid and structured creations, all based on the use of the darkest shades of black and a style that recalls the refined elegance of the French Atlantic coast.
To date, some 29 Latin American designers have taken part in the Fashion Show, including names as important as the following: Alexandre Herchcovitch (Brazil), Miguel Vieira (Portugal), Cora Groppo (Argentina), Mareu Nitschke (Brazil) and Mariano Toledo (Argentina), among others.
SIMM, the fair organised by IFEMA, is the second most important trade event for the clothing industry in Europe, providing a faithful reflection of the current state of the industry at its two editions each year. At this edition the Show will feature the participation of more than 800 companies from more than thirty countries. These participants will occupy a net exhibition area measuring more than 30,100 square metres.
