“We collaborated with a female wrestling club this season,” said Paula Canovas del Vas during her presentation in Paris. Dressed in her argyle plaid mesh body parts, the fighters lay on a mat while “her referees” circled the game, with the rest of the fall collection.
The Spanish designer is known for her surreally customized clothing and her knack for signature accessories, like horned ballerina slippers and indented-toe Diabalo sneakers (the wrestlers wore these last). However, the impression that she might stage some kind of quirky pre-Olympic fashion warm-up on the floor of the Cervantes Institute proved excessive.
“I usually tend to go for fantasy and escapism,” she agreed. “But when I thought about this presentation, I really wanted to show what the industry is going through. When I think about my conversations with my peers or myself, it really is a struggle. I felt that I had a duty, I had to make it public. When I talk to all my friends, [we talk] about the real harm that happens in the real world. So I thought: let’s compete.”
Canovas del Vas was candid when asked what exactly she struggles with as an independent designer: “I mean, that stores don’t pay.” Payments that come in slowly, even after she delivers her merchandise, cause cash flow pain. ‘Because I still have my team that I have to pay, and the artisans and suppliers that I am so fortunate to have.’ Moreover, for a young businesswoman there is an additional level of difficulty. “We are in an industry dominated by men, unfortunately white men.”
Working with the wrestlers, she discovered more hidden sexism in that sport. “They said there’s only men’s wrestling gear available. They have to shorten them to fit. I always make clothes that are comfortable for a woman’s body.” Her green and pink plaid layers of printed bodysuits, T-shirts and shorts received excellent reviews from the athletic crowd. “They’re very stretchy and breathable,” and the Diabolo sneakers, like sporty Mary Janes with their devilish toes, “are great for the wrestling mat, they told me.”
The referee outfits were more intended to deal with everyday street life. Out came faux fur-fronted jeans and fuzzy hats, puffy bombers and multiple layers of interesting off-pastel knits, paired with striped tights and this season’s version of her Carmen bag, surrounded by a softly bulbous, airbrushed bumper .
The designer, who lives in Paris and produces in her native Spain, uses deadstock materials. “We visit factories everywhere and do our purchasing from them.” Somewhere she had found red tulle that she could use as a ruffled half-skirt, hanging over one side of a pink, knee-length argyle jersey skirt. “I also wanted to create some kind of real violence because that’s what we’re dealing with,” she noted. “So that’s the red tulle. But there is also a real lightness. Also a feeling of protection.”
