Apr 29 -

Portugal has never really been on my radar of favorite fashion week cities and designer shows, but they have definitely proved themselves for Fall/Winter 2012/2013. As observed in Fashion TV’s highlights of several Portugal designer shows,  we see all of the upcoming fall trends tastefully incorporated into the Portuguese fashion. Lacoste’s Baptista plays up the top material that is being observed throughout all fashion cities: leather. He additionally throws in some asymmetrical color blocking, another big one for fall, although not exactly my cup of tea. Love, love, love the sheer satin mixing with the leather in Alves/Goncalves, and of course the GLITTER. A dangerous one to play with since it’s so easy to make an outfit look tacky with glitter, but the duo designers smoothly pull it off. Buchino presents the definition of classy, with his pieces exuding feminine minimalism, yet leaving some leg room for slight color blocking and asymmetry. Probably my favorite, simply because I am biased towards minimalism. Bettencourt brings out the Spanish, almost-tribal aspect through her garments. I can dig it. Lopes closes with a bang, clearly defining the most important concept in women fashion this fall: Power. Throughout the sheer satin, minimalism, color-blocking, asymmetry,  and high necklines, the concept of power is screaming to be heard. The heavily-padded shoulders in blazers and dresses, loose boyfriend style pants, over-sized shirts and sweaters…this is where we see the androgynous aspect take over, resulting in the concept of woman empowerment and women that do the work behind the scenes. All I have to say is nice work, Portugal and…watch out this fall, looks like women will have a lot to say…or wear.