Trained both in womenswear, Marta Marques and Paulo Almeida subscribe to the Helmut Lang school of thought, where ‘fashion is about attitude not hemlines’.
While their aesthetic evokes raw effortlessness, the pair’s technical sensibilities are revealed in the construction of each piece. Cutting their teeth at Vivienne Westwood and Preen respectively, Marques and Almeida took the natural course of combining talents while on the MA at Central Saint Martins – hitting the mark between impulse and consideration.
They launched MARQUES’ALMEIDA in April 2011 and showed for their first 2 seasons under Lulu Kennedy’s platform – Fashion East. In 2014 they were awarded NEWGEN sponsorship from the British Fashion Council / Topshop, showing for 5 seasons as a part of NEWGEN.
In May 2015 MARQUES’ALMEIDA were awarded the LVMH Prize for Young Fashion Designers. The design duo launched their debut Resort collection in 2015 and later in the year staged their first independent on schedule show for Spring Summer 2016.
In 2015 MARQUES’ALMEIDA were asked to design costumes for the New York City Ballet’s Fourth Annual Fall Fashion Gala, conceived by Sarah Jessica Parker, debuting in September 2015.
MARQUES’ALMEIDA is currently stocked globally in top department stores, with their stockist list growing each season.
Random conversation about Spring / Summer 2017
On Saturday, September 17, 2016, Rita Tavares wrote:
for resort17 we started this conversation about the process and the girls and how things have been changing as the team has been growing and how we felt this need of understanding of where we want to go from here.
i’m still quite obsessed about girls on instagram and how we can take so much out of it, individuality and attitude and how girls see themselves and what they want to give us from their life, how they choose to be seen.
On 18 Sep 2016, at 16:22, MARTA MARQUES wrote:
Yes I dont think Ive really had enough of the idea that we do stuff about them – and that it really never makes sense untill we put the clothes and the vision on them! It’s weird how we start with these random ideas of collages of vintage negliges with vintage basketball t shirts and tule sleeves hanging on our wall and then punkish references and then Baroque and then skaters but it’s only really when you see one of the girls wearing it that it makes sense. Is it that thing of every girl being all these things in a way?
On 18 Sep 2016, at 16:56, Rita wrote:
I think we spoke about that at some point, that girls are more than just punk or baroque or skaters, most of the girls around have all of these random influences together and that’s what makes it so good. Again what’s in common about all the research and moodboard is the girl – super cool, strong and effortless girls that have been around for the past 5 years – there’s more and more each season and it’s so amazing to watch them and learn about them and see them grow with us!
On 18 Sep 2016, at 17:06, Rita wrote:
I think the next years will be definitely about keeping that strong connection and communication with our girls, not losing that understanding of who’s around us.
On 18 Sep 2016, at 17:20, MARTA MARQUES wrote:
Yes absolutely! I guess it gradually became that for us it wasn’t really enough any- more to do a collection about this or that – we feel like we need to challenge our- selves and throw ourselves in the deep end a little bit as designers every time – and the awareness of what’s around us is the one thing that leads that way of thinking.
On 19 Sep 2016, at 09:43, Rita wrote:
And then building all of that into looks when the girls starting coming to the studio is also such a great experience. There’s always one look that you completely feel belongs to that girl and it’s great to see that moment happen! It’s building up to that experience of the show and having girls that are having so much fun with what they’re doing and the whole process that happens before and after. It doesn’t end after the show anymore I think, it’s not a one season thing that we say ‘ok now it’s over, let’s start all over again’. Do you feel that?
On 19 Sep 2016, at 11:38, MARTA MARQUES wrote:
That’s exactly it – feels like we’re really building a wardrobe and something that these girls want to wear and is special and made for them and the more girls we know and embrace, the more we understand and focus on them, the more complex it gets! Let’s see where it takes M’A!
For more info visit www.marquesalmeida.com
0 Comments