b-wear Fashion Highlights
Juan Vidal
Spanish Fashion Star
Juan Vidal has become Spain’s most valued designer in recent months. Over a very short period of time he has won two important prizes ("L'Oréal" for the best collection of 2014 during the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in Madrid, and "Who's on Next" promoted by the Spanish edition of Vogue), which far from being a launching pad (Juan is still surprisingly young recalling an adolescent look about him) is more a national recognition of the work that for some time now has been sold at some of the best shops in the world, like the Luisa Via Roma (Florence) or Dolce & Gabbana’s multi-label, 'Spiga 2' (Milan).
Juan’s case is a curious one, it would seem that if you come from a particular business background and decide to go into that business then things should be easier. It's true that having a dress making workshop at home is an advantage, especially if its as renowned as this one, the family are established fashion retailers selling brands like Moschino and Versace, with a unique take and insider knowledge. However what can first seem like an advantage can rapidly turn into a handicap in a business where novelty, impact and the ‘next big thing’ are as highly valued as the garments. Juan has taken some time to find his place, initially his clothes were perhaps too sophisticated and well made, so bona fide in fact that it was strange to see them on the catwalks along with other young talents (where by virtue of his age he belongs). This combination between style and pragmatism is surprising in its intensity, while many of his generation were influenced more by Willhelm or Scott Juan Juan was observing Elbaz (Lanvin). He knew how to bide his time and after many seasons showing on numerous catwalks today he seems to have finally found his niche.
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The integrity of his approach has led to a positive reaction at the international fairs where he has presented. Designed for real women looking for what used to be called elegance, nowadays the word presence might best describe it, his designs are always feminine, flirty, Parisian, the collections are titled; Chrystine, Odile and Victoria.
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Vidal knows his customers and how they want to dress, he knows their lives which for him means dressing them in a modern way, laid back but knowing how to ‘dress-up’ formally when the occasion arises. Volume, silhouette, fabric, tailoring, the quality is premium and because of that quality these clothes hang in some of the world’s best stores, even in Spain which are sometimes reluctant to sell local designers alongside the big foreign names.
- Juan Vidal, VICTORIA Ad Campaign "My witness is the empty sky" (Jack Kerouac)
- Photos; Ezkenaziencursiva
- www.juanvidal.net