My City ?

Ouro Preto, Brazil

O maracujá é uma planta de origem tropical, nativa da América Latina, com mais de 150 espécies nativas do Brasil. Essa planta foi mandada de presente ao Papa Paulo V (1605-1621), que mandou cultivá-la com grande carinho em Roma e divulgar que ela representava uma revelação divina. Devido à beleza extraordinária e a característica física de suas flores, a planta foi relacionada com a “Paixão de Cristo”. Desse detalhe surgiu o nome do seu gênero botânico (Passiflora), sendo “passio” o equivalente a paixão e “flor oris” o equivalente a flor.

Passion Flower (Flor da Paixão) - Bonito, Mato Grosso do Sul.

(images via ffw)

a year ago, during my first meeting with the label agua de coco (s/s 2011), i was more impressed with the artful cover-ups and breezy beach dresses than any of the swimwear.  now the brand is back with more for another hot season, and though their s/s 2012 range, presented at são paulo fashion week, certainly had some pretty tops and maxi dresses, the focus was clearly on the bikinis—and didn’t disappoint. 

as portais da moda’s review reports, the collection’s theme was (trans.) “’What art is there for everyone and everything’…a result of tours conducted in the museums of Europe.”  they go on to state that many of the prints featured aerial beach photography by brazilian artist cássio vasconcelos, while the geometric shapes of modern art pieces were also heavily employed.

the artisan techniques extended to the show’s materials, generally employing a fabric that ffw’s review describes as (trans.) “jello”, which gave the looks a “semi-transparent and wet finishing”, as well as various cotton blends.  though the colour palette was still quite varied, it felt a little more muted than similar swimwear shows we’ve been seeing of late, with some almost fall tones creeping in in lieu of the neons elsewhere.  tangerine, mint, off-white, hot pink, dusty brown, gold, cornflower, and ochre sat alongside big hibiscus prints, palm trees, beachside scenes, and plenty of abstract art motifs.

draping was a strong trend, , as was colour-blocking, and the swimsuits often featured bras with thick straps and tiny bottoms, while portais da moda points out (trans.) “trims in gold - one more charm to the collection - seen in buckles, straps and wires,” and pleats at the back of a number of pieces, which folded like accordions.  and, though bikinis were, as previously mentioned, the mainstay, there were some equally good tank suits (as the one worn by luana teifke, second from top), maxi dresses and skirts, and a couple of charming shortie cover-ups. 

if the range fell short in one area—mirth of the artistic swimwear aside—it was that it felt a little too heavily accessorized, from the sale of products at nearly every turn, to the way the girls were, frankly, too heavily made-up (see a good detail shot of opener caroline trentini; where many others have emphasized natural beauty, agua de coco went a little nuts with the bronzer, methinks), and the hair so severely pulled from their faces just served to underscore this point.

anyway, it wasn’t that the accessories weren’t good—in fact, i quite liked the geometric gold cuffs, but pairing those with the loud suede platform peep toe sandals in shades of fuchsia, tomato, and tangerine (an more austere beige version was also offered); bold gold earrings and necklaces; gold geometric bangles; and varioustypes of bag—is this girl going to the beach or starring in an editorial? in short, i think it undermined what they set out to do, which was rather a shame, for i did like the delightful, creative swimwear, which ought to have been given more of an opportunity to speak for itself. 

(see the complete show video here)

Summer Vacations start today,and I go back to Brazil in 4 days!

Life can’t get better xD

gonna see my looooove :D

Video

My City  ?