LUIS BUCHINHO SPRING SUMMER 2011

Luis Buchinho showed his Spring/Summer 2011 collection in the second day of Paris Fashion Week at the famed Lycée Henri IV in Just north of Paris’ Latin quarter at the top of the Mont Sainte Geneviève.

Buchinho is one of my favorite Portuguese fashion designers in part because of his understanding of elegance and femininity in a reinterpretation of the classical notion of style giving it a very modern and urban touch.

What I loved most in his Spring Summer 2011 collection was the soft colors of the palette chosen by the designer which are in the mood what we saw mostly in New York recently catwalks – the nude, the soft grey, creamy whites ...

Inspired by a soft African landscape each piece plays with texture, movement and asymmetry. Organic materials (washed silks, cotton tweeds, smooth and soft leathers), that feel good on the skin flowed easily and giving a seductive wearability.

It was really elegant to see the models sashayed down the runway in feminine heels occasionally tufted with fur. Also the use of lights and darks, and the soft folds that were hung asymmetrically give a freedom to the female body while the femininity remains intact. Luis Buchinho knows so well what women want: freedom, comfort, elegance and seduction if impossible in the same piece. Is it this female wish an unachievable illusion? Luis Buchinho said it was possible to pleasant women and I agree.

Luis Buchinho's ideas were all about bodies in motion with a modern, urban chic look that reminded me Lanvin's of Alber Elbaz latest collections in which each women is learning how to become a Greek goddess.