L.A. Fashion Week Spring '06: Juan Carlos Obando
New to the fashion scene just one year ago, Juan Carlos Obando presented a dramatic stage production for his third showing, held Oct. 17 at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Smashbox Studios in Culver City, Calif.
The former art director’s collection, dubbed “La Revancha De Remedios La Bella,” told the story of the various women who have had an impact on his life. The collection fused the memories of Obando’s childhood in Colombia with the magic and culture of Macondo in the novel “One Hundred Years of Solitude,” by Nobel-prizewinning author Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
“I really wanted people to experience how I feel right now,” said Obando. “I wanted people to enjoy themselves and submerge themselves into my story.”
Obando conveyed his theme through color, music, makeup and the energy of the models. He used a clean white modern aesthetic to represent purity, colorful ethnic looks for gypsies, cream sportswear for a loss of innocence, black swimwear for a sinister sexiness, and a glamorous retrospective of black vintage-inspired eveningwear to represent death and a beautiful afterlife.
The designer used 27 different kinds of fabric in the collection, including silk, burlap, cotton, linen and exotic skins. He collaborated with Catherine Michiels to create his accessories and artist Patrick Phegley for his graphic prints. —N. Jayne Seward
