Circus Mango

Last Tuesday, I attended the Mango fall collection at Barcelona’s Raluy Circus, which came complete with a big-top tent, a stunning acrobatic display and waiters with sad-clown faces.

The party itself was a bit of a circus: Before the show, I hung around with the international cartel (Canada, Israel, Singapore and Austria—the French, Germans and Russians kept to themselves), sipping bubbly, eating parmesan lollies and watching an array of Spanish celebs pose on the red carpet. None of us had a clue who anyone was (our best guess: telenovela stars). The fact that they all belonged to an unknown star system didn’t stop me from hopping up with the photogs and grabbing a few snaps.

The show itself was pretty great. With the circus venue, I was half expecting carnival wear somewhere between the Miu Miu and Commes des Garçons spring collections. What appeared on the backs of the likes of Lily Cole and Irina were Hitchcock-inspired vintage silhouettes, beautiful colour combos and a long line of cocktail dresses. I loved the belted long cardis and pencil skirts—very sexy secretary—and a watercolour floral-print skirt with vibrant pink blooms. Autumnal faves like grey and cream were punched up with vibrant mixes of plum and lustrous olive—colours inspired by a vintage French print uncovered at a flea market. It was all very femme, though surprisingly ungirlie.

After all the colour and nubby textures, it was a bit of a surprise to see a nearly all-black collection of eveningwear, short of a few pink and blue satin dresses. The standouts included a short, lustrous black trench that could almost double as a dress, and skinnies paired with a bolero that sported lacy poet cuffs. The real star, however, was a simple black column gown with gold beading on the bodice and at the hem. Cinched at the waist, it looked like a Greek vase. It’s classic (and classical, I suppose), and I plan to nab it for the holidays.

After waiting around for a very, very long time to catch the Blondie after-show, I made it through only two songs before pulling up stakes and heading back to the hotel. It was 2 a.m., and the crowd was still waiting for Queens of Noize to start the real party. I was content with the fashion parade.

Shown: Mango Fall 2008, photography by Jordi Bardajil & Jorge Andreu.

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