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La Moda es Sueño means ¨Fashion is a Dream¨ in English.   That´s a pretty fierce name and gives the expo a lot to live up to-which it did!  This exhibit was truly a dream!

The special exhibit paid homeage to iconic Spanish fashion designers by showcasing some of most famous and elaborate outfits in the Museo Cerrablo.  Sounds pretty routine, no?

It wasn´t.  If you  have ever been to the ¨Museo¨Cerrablo, it is an absolutely stunning, antique mansion/palace decorated with vintage items, luxurious fabrics, chandeliers, and spanish art.  The museum in itself is truly a sight for sore eyes.  The details are impecible. Here a couple of the pictures of the museum so you can get an idea of it´s beauty.

Then you add in fashion specifically chosen to ¨match¨the vibe of each specific room and it basically makes for a art and fashion lovers paradise.  I was in heaven!

I caught the exhibit on the last hour of the last day (sigh…procrastination!) and it is now over, but at least I can share my photos and experience with you if you weren´t able to see it yourself.  I hope the photos do it justice! Designers and details come after the photos.

In order of appearance, the designers of the items below:

Hannibal Laguna 2010 (long with pink flowers)

Agatha Ruiz de la Prada 2010 (short, pink and draped)

Ana Locking 2012 (long white silk pleated floral)

Lydia Delgado 2012 (short cocktail dress, various colors)

Jesus del Pozo 2005 (goldish long silk and organza with broken pleats)

Lemoniez 2009 (black and white sequined short dress that was inspired by Iván Zuleta.  Took 350 hours to create the design on the dress)

Joseph Font 2008 (Long white dress with flowers, duck feathers and Swarovski crystals)

Paco Robanne 1999 (white short metallic dress with gold)

Maya Hansen 2011 (Corset and and skirt with faces)

Agatha Ruiz de la Prada 2008 (multicolor)

Manolo Blanhik shoes

Miguel Palacio 2011 (Black dress with circles)

Roberto Toretta 2012 (navy blue black business suit)

GROUP of  2 black and 1 white dress: (Andres Sarda 2012 White long with ruffles, on the right (Balenciaga 1967 black) and on the left (Sybilla 1996 black)

Carmen March 2007 (Blue cocktail silk taffeta dress)

Elio Berhanyer 1971 ( Orange silk suit)

José Castro 2009 (white tulle and organza short dress)

Roberto Verino 2012 (black cocktail dress with Swarovski crystals)

Hannibal Laguna 2008 (black long velvet with sequins and Swarovski crystals)

Devota y Lomba 2008 (yellow cocktail dress with triangle volume)

Teresa Helbig 2008 (cocktail dress with tulle bottom, creme with floral aplique and velvet black belt)

Pertegaz 1959 (floral cocktail dress, which is normally featured in the Museo del Traje in Madrid)

The official dates for Mercedes Benz Fashion Week have been confirmed: the 18th to 22nd of February.  This year, the shows fall only on weekdays, and I can´t decide if I think that is a good or bad thing.  I guess we´ll find out based on turnout. I have attempted to obtain press passes this year, we´ll see the outcome!  Mark your calendars fashion fans!!!

Madrid´s annual GastroFestival is coming up and this year, it´s not just all about food, it´s about fashion too!

What a splendid idea, combining my two favorite things, food and fashion!  The festival will take place from Jan. 19th to Feb. 3.  There is a large variety of activities such as films about food, tapas routes throughout the city, wine and coffee tastings and much more.  But what I am most excited about this year is the GastroFashion section.

The Gastro Fashion is split into two categories.  The first category is Menus by Elle.  Basically, Elle Magazine has collaborated with twenty of Madrid´s trendiest restaurants in order to create special tasting menus that will cost approximately 30 euros a person.

For example, Luzi Bombon, one of the hottest spots in Madrid, offers the following menu:

Menú

Entrantes, a elegir

Strigoli con rúcula, tomate, piñones y mozzarella

Ensalada de canónigos, frutos secos y parma
Segundos, a elegir

Hamburguesa, mozzarella y tomate seco

Pollo de corral

Tartar de atún con guacamole
Postre, a elegir

Helados variados

Tarta de chocolate y dulce de leche
Bebida

Marqués de Murrieta reserva, Pazo de Barrantes.
Precio: 35 euros + IVA.

Menú disponible al mediodía, de lunes a viernes

YUM!  Other participating restaurants include Bar Tomate, Eccola Kitchen Bar, and Vintage Lounge, just to name a few.

The other part of GastroFashion is the boutiques.  Various Spanish designers will be offering interesting food and drink related opportunities within their shops for customers.

For example, Roberto Verino will be putting together a window and shop display entirely related to wine.  Clients will be able to do wine tasting in the store as well. Sign me up!

Angel Schlesser will be creating a display related to organic fruits and vegetables.  Not as fabulous as wine, but I´ll take it!

Agatha Ruiz de la Prada will be creating a special display called ¨Agatha´s Table¨where customers can sample different foods typical of Madrid.

There are more exciting and ¨tasty¨opportunities from Custo Barcelona, Lemoniez, and more.

Bón Appetit!

I enjoyed this collection because I felt it was very urban and very wearable. I myself would wear a lot of her designs.  She added in some fun details, like fringe, which gave it a 90´s vibe, and I found her color and fabric choices to be exciting and bright, especially the hot pink and gold.   Refreshingly, some of her models even wore flats!

Pictures from Hola.com

Hannibal Laguna never fails to blow me away!  As usual, his collection of stunning gowns made me swoon.  The name of his collection  ¨Satin Doll¨was very appropriate given the nature of his beautiful fabrics which included silk and organza, and also lace and feathers .  His collection, as always, was filled with elegance and glamour.

Trends to Note: The peplum, feathers, volume, floaty lines, bold colors

Rumor has it that Giorgio Armani may be retiring from his company at the ripe old age of 77.  Armani STILL designs and manages the Armani Spa brand, which is suprising at many other aspects and brands with the Armani name are now licensed out.  It´s been reported that Armani may finally step down to retire and leave the brand to a charity organization. 

Hopefully we´ll know soon whether or not there is any truth to these rumors!  However…at 77…the man´s gotta retire sometime soon!

He looks pretty good (and TAN) for 77 if you ask me!

Image from Contact Music

Justin Bieber made yet another appearance on El Hormiguero in Madrid a few days ago.  This will actually be his 3rd appearance on the show.   The program was pretty entertaing and Justin seemed to be having fun.  He was dressed in a low key white tee and jeans.  The highlight was when he sang out of a window to thousands of teenage fans waiting on Calle Alcala to see him, as you can see below. 

Am I a fan of Justin? He´s alright.  However, I love seeing American celebs visit Madrid so he must be included in that! He was here to promote his new CD ´Boyfriend´which comes out June 19th. 

I know this image has been circulating the internet for a day or two now but I just had to post on it…how FABULOUS does she look in this Alexander McQueen red dress? I really see Kate Middleton as becoming a legendary style icon-like Jackie O or something.  She really is stepping up to the plate and looking like a true princess these days, chic and elegant.

Here she is at featured at the Queens Diamond Jubilee Parade.   The dress was custom made by Alexander McQueen, nude pumps by LK Bennet, and hat by Lock and Co.