MBFWLJ – Passion on the runway.

Passion is a powerful feeling. People have committed crimes of passion. It’s all about having very strong emotions or feelings and it can even be measured by blood flow, brain activity, facial micro-expressions, and body language. My mind and body kick into hyper mode during fashion shows. For instance I don’t have facial micro-expressions, I have a big grin on my face. Because fashion is my passion. It rhymes, I know.

As we got our invitations for Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Ljubljana I noticed a big difference regarding presenting fashion designers and their work. They all do men’s wear. Just men’s fashion?! Whaaa…come again?! I did notice the word avant-garde somewhere and it did swirl in my head, but I wasn’t really aware of it. Anyway, it meant that more than half of the “regular” local fashion designers were not attending and presenting almost 6 months of their work! It meant less shows, less days…less enthusiasm?

The 7th edition of MBFWLJ consisted of two evenings. First one we skipped, to be honest, it only held two fashion shows. On Sunday evening though, we were driving around Autocommerce’s Mercedes-Benz industrial halls looking for a crowd of fashionable people. It was raining, it was dark, we did a couple of spins, but managed to arrive on time. Dear Meta C., public relations consultant for Pristop, escorted us in. My grin started to appear. The venue looked amazing! Industrial, raw, underground with dimmed lights and electronic music. It looked like some avant-garde Berlin club scene or a bit more polished Metelkova. I felt right at home and was ready to partey!

When all those fabulous men in awesome clothing came walking all around us, my grin transformed into a jaw-drop. The runway zig-zaged left, right, behind, in front. It gave the feeling like we, the audience, were in the center and the fashion show was happening all around us. The lighting was perfect, centered on the runway, while we got to sit in the dark. Sometimes we sit like chickens under bright lights. That’s why I never wear feathers to fashion shows. 😉

Testosterone was oozing from the runway and I was trying to focus on the task in hand, clothing.

Boško Jakovljević, Factory.
His collection was street wear for the urban jungle. Animal prints, sweatshirts and hoodies, loose track pants in combo with casual blazers. I am not a snake print fan, but his magnified version took it to another level. He did grace us with a couple of woman’s outfits as well. It was fun, it was young, easy-to-wear and great for the streets in 2019!

Franziska Mihael, a Berlin based designer presented a Bohemian rhapsody on the runway. Her distinctive quality of overlapping various styles and fabrics made this collection interesting and thought provoking. At first glance some design decisions felt a bit off, but then they transformed into this unexpected balance. That’s when avant-garde happens.

Ivanman
His guys are always polished, slick with casual allure. Collection has a common thread, perfect construction, great colours and a piece for every man’s wardrobe. Loved the twist with prints, stating the obvious, like “JACKE. S/S 2019.” Just a drop of crazy spice, perfect.

Marko Glavinić took us on a French Riviera road trip. Stripes, colours for the young&trendy, bermuda shorts, knee length socks, duffle bag and backpacks. There was something nostalgic about it. They were ready for tennis, golf or just taking in the Sun, sipping a long drink.

Milica Vukadinović dressed her guys into casual sportswear. A bit too casual for my taste, but still it’s good street wear. Nonetheless her usual inventiveness and edgy coolness was obvious with accessories, because her bags are awesome. Would have loved to see more of that in her collection, because I know she does it best.

Sari Valenci is our wild child. She pumped up the volume and went all the way! Dressing guys into purple and pink, adding snake prints and a very latex looking fabric is a recipe for disaster. Well, not this time. She definitely had her “make it work” moment. 😉

I would say that SENS is short for sensible in this case. Clothes scream of quality and sophistication. Down-to-earth stylings with great touch for current trends. Guys looked very nice, classy and cool. Would love to see something different than a burgundy turtle neck, from time to time, just fashion show wise.

Sofia Nogard men’s collection is definitely my No 1. It hit all the right notes. It had a perfect balance of sophistication and urban street style, it’s gentle but also strong with those Japanese like, wide leg pants and origami shirt. Rich, beautiful colours and intricate form. Very powerful collection.

Spirit gave us a duo chromatic collection with abstraction in form and pattern. It worked in a practical and presentable way. Clean lines and strict cuts. On the other hand romantic rose pattern. Great combo.

Tjaša Zalar’s collection was interesting. I can see the street and young side of it, even something vintage out-of-the-back-closet thing, great mix. But then there’s some asymmetry with half of thrench coat, some wavy hem lines, a lot of different fabrics, there’s just a lot going on. Stylings would look great for a photoshoot, muted colours pulled the whole thing together, but as a collection I still think less-is-more is a better design approach.