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• 08/31/2007

  SIMM, fashion to come

  • 

    Panoramic view of the exhibit

• FACT FILE

  Spanish exhibitors: 600

  Total net surface area: 30.000 square meters

  Location: Feria de Madrid

   

  CONTACT

  Feria de Madrid (IFEMA)
  28042 Madrid
  Tel.: (+34) 91 772 30 00
  simm@ifema.es

   

  http://www.semanamoda.ifema.es/

   

  NEXT SHOW DATES

  February 2008

More than 800 fashion companies revealed their Spring-Summer 2008 collections at the 58th edition of the Madrid International Fashion Fair, held from 31 August to 2 September at the Feria de Madrid exhibition centre. Around 600 of all the participants were Spanish, while the rest travelled from 21 different countries, primarily Germany, France, Italy, Portugal and the United Kingdom. For the regular SIMM visitor, the event’s new image was the most particularly striking aspect, with eight different designs for the stands that were placed diagonally inside each of the five pavilions.

Time to celebrate
Several companies that participated at SIMM are currently celebrating their 25th anniversary. Specialised in knits, Dikton’s from Barcelona is commemorating its first quarter-of-a-century in existence together with a luxury godmother: the one and only Martina Klein, who is featured in their Spring-Summer 2008 campaign. With an international focus, the company exports 70% of its production and is sold in shops as exclusive as Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom in New York. Their main objective is to strengthen their presence in the Russian market with its most delicate designs, which, for the upcoming summer collection, include innovative materials combined with knits. These materials feature very thin gauges, giving the garments a lightweight look, and bamboo yarn, made with the same vegetable fibre that is used to make money.

Also celebrating its 25th anniversary, Charo Azcona has presented a party collection bursting with colours and featuring two distinct lines: on the one hand, strong, acid tones; and on the other, the subtlety of garments in pastel shades, with exquisite ivory and gold combinations. The tunics with butterfly sleeves, ideal for wearing with trousers, are their greatest design for next summer’s celebrations. Already present in Greece, Japan and Russia, the company will begin selling its Spring-Summer 2008 collection in Italy.

Matilde Cano, also specialised in party designs, has shown her Puro Egeo collection at the fair, inspired by southern European coasts. It is comprised of light, sheer dresses in calm tones that range from white to indigo. The collection was also presented last July at the Portici d’Estate fashion show held in the southern Italian city of Taranto.

Celebrations and special occasions are the current focus of the accessories company from Barcelona, Drap. In the collection they revealed at SIMM, brocades took the spotlight, together with the combination of jewels with natural stones, and a retro style inspired by the 20s and 60s. For a new twist, they presented handbags with built-in bracelets, which combine luxury and comfort for those special days. With recent point-of-sale openings in New York and upcoming openings in Las Vegas, the company’s next stop is the Mipel Fair in Milan.

For Ibiza celebrations, one cannot forget the super-white “ad-lib” fashions presented by companies such as Charo Ruiz and Pepa Bonett.

Fashion with an ethnic flair
One of the busiest stands during the three days of the SIMM fair belonged to Flamenco. Drawing inspiration from Asia’s richness and colours, this company presented its damask oversized bags in pastel and earth tones which contrast with the ones in magenta, the star colour of the latest seasons, and which is also featured in their essential kaftans, both for women and girls.

Very close to Flamenco, the brand Tantra has also unveiled its ethnic designs, which reveal an affinity for plastic and patent leather materials, as well as for leopard and zebra prints. Just a little further down, the Yokana designs were awaiting us. Their point of reference is the Indian culture, for fashion and accessories in energetic tones.

A tribal air was also found in some of the handbags and accessories by Mo by María Roca, which had another of the event's most visited stands. Their new collection explores futurism and softens it, staying away from overly brilliant materials and instead incorporating softer textures into easily combinable pieces. Oversized bags and small handbags are the extreme summer trend for Mo, whose hard, small handbags have been very well received by the buyers, as has a line of plain-coloured leather bags with large metallic applications. The company has points-of-sale in the United States (New York), Italy, France, Dubai and the United Kingdom.

A very personal style
Van-Dos, which distributes its collections in multi-brand boutiques in Greece, Portugal, Russia and Japan, has selected SIMM to unveil its irresistible, origami-inspired collection. The company works the fabric as if it were paper, incorporating geometric prints and embroideries into carefully created garments made of a cotton/lurex blend or metallic linen.

The La nena vale y el nene también line is the newest development from the Basque company, Ian Mosh. Comprised of gauze t-shirts in red and white tones, the primary motif in its prints and image is: the heart. The overlays and patchwork are a primary feature of the main line, giving off a “chic castaway” look in becoming pastel tones.

Catalan designer Mireia Bisbe, who at the end of September will open her first shop in Barcelona, presented the glamorous dress designed by the cut crystal company, Swarovski, as well as a collection defined by careful fabric selection. The objective is to enable each customer to combine garments as they wish in order to cater to different publics, whether it is for a more classic or younger-style boutique. The palette of colours ranges from neutral tones (grey, beige, tan, etc.) to more lively hues, but is never loud.

Youth with personality
Amongst the younger participants, the collection of a certain female duo particularly stands out, with a great deal to contribute to Spanish fashion: Solitas. These designers from Cadiz draw their inspiration from the water cycle in order to create images for their ultra-feminine, delicate garments. The collection, titled Los paraísos de Solita, is comprised of light cotton and Lycra pieces.

Ion Fiz from the Basque country presented his first line at SIMM, as well as another more accessible and sporty line, Serie B. The first uses natural fabrics in pastel tones (ecrus, pink, blue) and black for night-time, while Serie B features gold hues, patchwork, earth tones and liberty prints, with a predilection for one garment in particular: the T-shirt. With this Fall-Winter 2007/08 collection, Ion Fiz has entered into the Arab countries (Rijad). His next professional fair event will take place in January, where he will participate in the Intermoda Fair in Guadalajara (Mexico).