Cape St. Vincent

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To be honest, my visit to Cape St. Vincent (or Cabo de São Vicente) is one of the most beautiful experiences in my life, and a must-see when staying in Portugal’s Algarve region. Once believed to be the ‘end of the world’, today Cape St. Vincent is a tourist attraction that many tourists don’t even know about actually. The area (where you can as well find the obsolete Franciscan monastery and a renovated light-house) is largely protected as a National Park. You will surely observe countless wildflowers (including Algarve orchids) and migrant birds. But, oh my, those views! THAT AIR! The sunsets are spectacular, but that’s quite clear. And the woollen sweaters you can buy at the entrance during the day are also worth the drive.

Photos by Edward Kanarecki.

Joy. Rosie Assoulin SS19

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The fashion week calendar gets blurrier and blurrier with designers like Rosie Assoulin, who has presented her resort 2019 and spring-summer 2019 as one, fluent collection, long ahead of the usual schedule. The designer is planning to make two collections a year, keeping it at her pace – so, forget any ‘see now, buy now’ strategies here, or other confusing business tricks. For Assoulin, it’s the time that matters: to design and to produce her garments. And that’s quite visible, when you take a moment to look at the clothes.

For instance, a coat hand-painted with watercolours; intricately beaded midi-skirts. Note the pin-striped suits. As Vogue reports, “instead of engineering a print, each pinstripe was actually a space-dyed yarn that almost shimmered”. Indeed, not that simple as it seems. Not forgetting about the fantastic jug bags, one of Rosie’s well-known signatures among the New Yorkers. This time they come in even bolder colours. What makes Rosie Assoulin’s brand so distinctive is the joy and humour that are inseparable from the clothes. And what else could highlight that this season? The presentation’s venue, Raquel’s Dream House. It’s Raquel Cayre’s space, where the design lover exhibits some of the most iconic pieces – Masanori Umeda’s Tawaraya ring sits, Shiro Kuramata’s famously fragile Glass Chair and Ettore Sottsass’s Ultrafragola mirror, to name a few. A set that matches Assoulin’s arty gowns, skirts and outerwear just perfectly.

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Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

Melting Pot. Alexander Wang SS19

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It seems that the New York fashion calendar is about to break down entirely. Some major designers show in Paris; some are coming back home, and to the regular schedule  (Proenza Schouler is the latest); and some, like Alexander Wang, decide to show ahead of all, in the Big Apple, and persuade us, the confused viewers, not to call it spring-summer 2019 – but rather, the enigmatic ‘season 1’. Yes, I know that might be too much. But surprisingly, all those switches did good to Wang. Not that I adore his latest collection, but it’s so much better than his last seasons. At least, it’s not trying to mean too  much as it did the last time with the Matrix-CEO theme.

The inspiration started with Alexander’s mum and dad taking a trip together, and their immigration to America. Still, the collection wasn’t meant to be overly political, so migration wasn’t the ultimate key here. The designer focused on the notion of more dynamic, risk-involving travelling, or rather riding. Maybe the attitude close to Lana Del Rey’s Ride music video might be a clue. In overall, the collection felt like a creative melting pot shaped from Wang’s experiences, fascinations and aesthetics. We’ve had the Axl Rose bandanas; motocross gears; leather mini skirts and ‘piercing’ tops made of pins; football jerseys. Is that the today’s grunge according to Alex? Who knows. Definitely, Wang felt a lot of joy, while designing the collection, as all of that is truly, but truly him.

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Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

 

Algarve’s Pottery

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While travelling the Algarve region in Portugal, we came across a number of pottery  ateliers where the true magic happens. Algarve is known for its incredible ceramic pottery heritage, quite possibly due to the natural presence of clay here. But I guess it’s also thanks to the local people, who make this craftmanship so alive these days. In the small, but charming town of Silves, Luis and Teresa of Al-tannur Ceramica create some of the most fantastic tiles, jewellery and plates using the ancient Arab dry-rope technique. The couple doesn’t fall into well-known clichés of sunny fields; rather, they choose to depict such motifs as sharks, dogs, people’s affairs and historical scenes (most likely kept in bold colours). Meanwhile in Monchique, we’ve entered Leonel Telo‘s studio by accident. The artist creates moulds containing herbs and flowers, but as well does incredible kitchen-ware and vases. Plus, the artisan’s garden filled with lemon trees just outside his studio-slash-boutique is a beautiful addition to his works.

Al-Tannur Ceramica / Rua da Sé / Silves

Leonel Telo Ceramicas / Rua Engenheiro Duarte Pacheco / Monchique

All photos by Edward Kanarecki.