–and look in my book for a mini-biography of Agatha and some of her work.
APPEARS: Agatha Ruiz de la Prada,
a Madrid designer. Brightening my research.
And it ain’t just about color, but ooooooh, it is about color too!
A Spanish designer with a totally unique and recognizable style, I love her for more reasons than I can describe here today.
She’s one of those designers (you’ll see in the images below) who goes OUTSIDE the realm of the norms and reinvents clothing.
Agatha Ruiz de la Prada’s designs remind you that ANYTHING is possible. She reminds you that you forgot how much was possible, that you forgot there was ANOTHER WAY to design and look at things. THIS IS SUCH A PRECIOUS GIFT to be reminded to be playful. To be colorful. To have fun. To be inventive and illustrative. To bring childlike wonder to your creations. To be sculptural, to be fearless, to be curious. And to know the craft of clothing. To know the craft of COLOR.
Laura Volpintesta, Styliste américaine, née à Mexico de parents italiens et formée à New York et Paris. Elle est à la tête de son propre atelier de mode et enseigne le stylisme à Parsons, école new-yorkaise d’art et de design.
Now, I can’t make you go to her website to see her stuff, but I can tell you again that on her website, there is a tab called “retrospective”.(*** it’s gone now~ but you can see desfiles/fashion shows back till 2012 on the site)
AND THEY’RE GUARANTEED TO ROCK YOUR WORLD.
She makes you realize that perhaps you’ve become accustomed to just so many conventions, and limits.
Limits in construction, in fun, in color,….. and YOU ARE READY TO BREAK FREE!
So I’m curating this page to get you excited enough to go grab your design sketchbook.
Since there are so many pieces I wanted to share, I ‘ve decided to start it by narrowing it down to pants.
LOOK AT THESE PANTS!
Fresh silhouette, jodhpur inspired, “pegged ” silhouette reminiscent of a heart in color and shape.
A color blocked pantsuit of spicey oranges, creased trousers and classic tailoring. “Clashing “buttons energize the color palette.
Asymmetrical drapey jersey pants with a wrap and tie waistband that repeats down the legs with wrapping, drapey bands in a pure pastel color.
Macro- scaled elastic smocking giving texture and fit to these pants in a bright blue.
Macro, mega-dotted voluminous pants plus an exaggerated paper-bag waist. Super wide-cut legs, and a color repeat that is so huge that the pants appear asymmetrical.
Is it astro turf? Attached to a neutral, comfy, stretchy waist yoke… textural, cropped pantsVertical boning builds sculptural form and silhouette to playful pants that look handpainted in pure sky blue.
Hoop-hemmed asymmetrical pants reminiscent of pijama pants or boxer shorts in fabric and waistband elastic detail, Signature colors from Agatha Ruiz de la Prada are recognizable right away!
One piece pantsuit-jumper in extra large “stripe” that looks hand-printed, cut to create an uneven pattern by adding an almond-shaped front panel into the waist area. by Agatha Ruiz de la Prada(the kind of garment you just want to lie flat on the floor and look at its shape!)UBER- QUILTED JUMPSUIT anyone???
Exaggerating proportions of any kind and catapulting beyond the “norms” of fashion’s classic materials, constructions, shapes, textures and color language are Agatha Ruiz de la Prada’s trademarks.
Another wiggly, hand painted looking stripe, hooped waistline and inverted triangle silhouette creates this dramatic, playful and exuberant pair of overalls tapering down to fitted ankles.
KIMONO, CAFTAN OR BODYSUIT?
KIMONO– BODYSUIT -FUSION vibes with color blocked facings applied to the outside of the garment… and several options for how to wear it.
That;s a lot of new ways of looking at pants!
CREATIVE CONSTRUCTIONS
I urge to you lay your eyes on each of the designs below and respond to them within yourself.
How do they jolt you out of your habitual ways of thinking about fashion and design?
Handkerchief dress with colorful neckline detail mixes big flowy long squareshanging on bias contrasting with their anchor: small, round circles at the neck.
FEEL THE VIBRATIONS of the colors – a garden of appliqued felt flowers feels so innocent and playful.
To me this appears to be a print made from collaging colors and pictures of stars and hearts, but the visual effect is a patchwork effect mixed with a Chinese column dress silhouette and collar. I don’t see any visible hand-sewn patchworking, but I could be wrong
An array of fabric scraps (in signature brand colors ) or strips are carefully chosen to vibrate joy as hand-cut fringe adds movement and texture to an otherwise basic, elastic waist skirt. Most are solid, some are striped or patterned, and all are super lightweight and summery.
Is it bubble skirt? or a bon-bon? OR BOTH? I think it’s both.Fuzzy , furry, warm wooly minimal , symmetrical coat cut in maximal color vibration to create visual asymmetry. One side features vertical panel direction, the other side moves horizontally.Pure-color hues are maximized in energy next to their parent, white. the shiny satiny bands on this simple dress shape are just rectangles, but because of gravity , drapability, and only being stitched at the ends, tney hang and create new shapes and weight.KNITTED COLOR-BLOCKED DRESS BY AGATHA RUIZ DE LA PRADA featuring some of her more muted tones playing off brighter ones and a totally innovative and exaggerated ribbing at all of the hems.Primary colors play off of darker tones and shades of primaries. IS it color theory? Or pure intuitive emotion in action through color selection? Strips of straight-grain fabric are joined in this front-opening structured dress-coat with ample sleeves, dissolving dizzily into uneven lengths at the hem.asymmetrical machine knit caftan style cdress, color blocked with visual and virtual weight dragging one side to the floor in a cascading effect of rippling colors, as i melting.Square cut-velvet pattern in cheerful pink, echoed by square neckline. Peek-a-boo layers of off-grain panels create a rhythmic movement and surprise, this piece feels energetic bold and fiercely feminine, sweet and celebrational all at the same time. Effortless to wear, ingeniously and cleanly constructed with a careful eye to proportion and silhouette edges. I’m sure it flutters!Is it lined or is it double faced fabric? Uneven, cutaway hemline with colors reminiscent of India, as well as the neckline, sleeve length and overall silhouette. Shimmery woven fabric with slight flare
Okay, I’ve done my part. Are you rejuvenated, curious, excited, relieved, happy, energized, inspired to create?
JOURNAL PROMPT:
WHAT WOULD YOU DESIGN IF YOU WORKED FOR AGATHA RUIZ DE LA PRADA??
Love, Laura “color is joy” “fashion is a public service” Volpintesta
“ain’t no sunshine when it’s gone, when it’s gone its gone too long….”
I love color! And ideas. And hearts.
Shingo Sato’s entire TR Cutting Workshop seemed to revolve around hearts.
And I don’t think it was accidental!!!! His class and his demeanor reflected peace and joy.
Hearts contain angles, curves, and carry the energy of love.
Learn more and take a walk around the 40 year retrospective of Agatha Ruiz de la Prada’s work in this video!
