La “rolez”

This exhibition is the result of research into Bogotá and its many fashion styles: an overview of current production for men and women, including accessories and footwear, through five well-known local brands — Bendita Seas, Tul, Mucca, A New Cross and Imperio Bastardo. The invited exhibitors come from fields other than fashion design, such as fine arts, advertising, graphic and industrial design and jewellery. They form a diverse, interdisciplinary professional group, which is remarkable considering these are relatively young brands, at most ten years on the market, with their own boutiques/workshops and an active presence in fashion circles and exhibitions in and outside Bogotá.

The exhibition speaks of the city’s identity, its subcultures and its individuals¹. It shows the representation and abstraction of the territory and its particularities, the colours and materials that served as inspiration², and the brands’ ability to develop products and outfits that adapt to Bogotá’s “bipolar climate”³ and suit different situations in the city’s everyday life⁴.

Speaking of this very complicated matter of “rolo” fashion — which means more than a simple Bogotá definition of fashion — I mean a certain emotional envy I feel as a consumer of clothing when I stand next to female friends who look for beauty and versatility in their outfits.

To explain this, on the one hand, women are generally influenced by cultural figures and models that make them more aware of and concerned with their appearance. On the other hand, although the city has many urban cultures and we think of ourselves as a great metropolis, it is still quite conservative: it is hard to find brands or boutiques specifically for men, and men bold enough to wear a branded garment with an exclusive design.

Let us also consider that we have been invaded by a series of large chain brands that arrived promising a supposed exclusivity and ended up putting the average population into a uniform (a phenomenon that has reached both genders and directly affects the new brands). This does not mean that, even though menswear production is smaller in scale, there are no interesting brands on the local market⁵, visible enough that even a novice like me would wear them.

The fashion designer’s role in defining the market and consolidating a contemporary “rolo” identity is a tool the industry could use better — for example, by proposing seasons and collections that refer to the territory and better meet the needs of local consumers.

— David Pérez

Notes

1 Imperio Bastardo draws inspiration from industrial environments, textile graphics and urban narrative.

2 Mucca combines traditional jewellery with contemporary techniques, exploring new materials and forms.

3 Bendita Seas, a brand for women who stand out through charisma and creativity (“blessed” women among others), regularly uses the concept of “bipolar climate” in its collections to explain part of its style — full of contrasts and as surprising as Bogotá’s weather, which can go from savanna sunshine to torrential rain in a single day.

4 Tul’s latest collection, “Tropical”, besides being a fun, clean and colourful line, is above all the outfit of a mature woman, while keeping the origins of this originally innocent, teenage brand.

5 Taking as reference the recent Círculo de la Moda 2013, where only 3 of almost 20 participating brands were menswear. Worth noting among them is the androgynous design of A New Cross, featured in this exhibition.