Spanish designer María Clè Leal, who was recently awarded with the
Mercedes-Benz Fashion Talent Award, presented her Autumn/Winter 2015-2016
collection during the final night of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Amsterdam
to a full-house, which included guest of honor and face of MBFWA
Spring/Summer 2016, model Doutzen Kroes.
Clè Leal was invited to show her collection as the guest designer of MBFWA
as part of the Mercedes-Benz designer exchange programme, a platform which
has been developed by the orginazation to support talented young designers.
“I am very grateful to Mercedes-Benz for this opportunity – it’s a great
showcase to display my work,” said Clè Leal.
Presenting her collection for the first time in Amsterdam, she showcased a
delicate, feminine collection based on a color palette that consisted of
nudes, blacks and fuchsia. Inspired by the soft petals of a flower, the
Spanish designer used materials like boiled wool and light chiffon to
create dresses that cocooned the female form. There was much focused place
on the female silhouette, which was heavily emphasised by excessive ruffles
of volume and exaggerated proportions crafted from the thick fabric in the
first designs shown and later accentuated by light, almost transparent
layers that seemed to float and skim over the models bodies in later
designs.
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The models were accompanied by a ballerina dancer draped in chiffon on the
catwalk, who did draw some of the attention away from the designs, but was
meant to distort the straight lines of the models walk. Her dance acted as
a metaphor for a Clè Leal, who enjoys mixing different forms of art with
her work and the story behind the collection. The Mercedes-Benz Fashion
Talent Award, which recognises the creativity of young Spanish designers at
Fashion Week in Madrid, was awarded to the designer for her first solo
collection since her separation from her former design partner Patricia
Blaquez Morales, entitled ‘Fragile’.
“Fragile was born from many changes in my life. It’s a very poetic
collection, inspired by the life of a flower,” said the Madrid-based
designer on her collection. “The collection speaks of the delicate and
subtle, but also about the force behind a seemingly crisp image. Armed
structure designs, very sculptural and organic forms shaped in felt, give
way to more simple to finish with very feminine clothes, made in chiffon
printed with drawings by me. It is a very personal collection.”
Images: MBAFW and Team Peter Stigter