🎙️ Alejandro Gómez Palomo
Let me tell you about the white hot Spanish designer Alejandro Gómez Palomo. You have probably already heard about his brand Palomo Spain – which he launched in 2015 – because of Beyoncé. She famously wore one of his floral menswear pieces for her first official photo with her newborn twins, Rumi and Sir.
Let me tell you about the white hot Spanish designer Alejandro Gómez Palomo. You have probably already heard about his brand Palomo Spain – which he launched in 2015 – because of Beyoncé. She famously wore one of his floral menswear pieces for her first official photo with her newborn twins, Rumi and Sir.
Alejandro Gómez Palomo
Palomo calls himself a menswear designer, that is what he studied during his time at the London College of Fashion, and yet his theatrical outfits can easily cross gender lines. His clothing is not so much focused on a person’s sex, but rather their level of sartorial daring. There is a boldness to Palermo and a joyful abandonment to his well-constructed designs. His imagination is overflowing with ideas, but also there is a meticulousness and attention to detail to his work.
Think John Galliano, Alexander McQueen or Jean Paul Gaultier.
In fact, being a fashion designer was always what Palomo knew he wanted to do. Growing up in the small town of Córdoba, in the South of Spain, he admitted that by the age of six he already was a big fan of dressing up Barbies, he religiously watched fashion shows on TV and was sketching incessantly. And then one day his father made the very smart suggestion that he study to become a fashion designer.
I had the pleasure of speaking with Alejandro right after his Spring/Summer 2019 collection at Madrid Fashion Week, where part of the invitation to his show was a drop of his own blood on a specimen slide, and the show itself was inside the Museum of Natural Sciences, surrounded by taxidermy stuffed animals and an array of curiosity cabinet pieces, that - just like the essence of the Palomo brand – brings disparate ideas together to create something wholly original.
🎙️ Johnny Coca
The fashion industry is buzzing about the Spanish designer Johnny Coca. Everyone wants to know how, in just three years, he has turned the Mulberry brand around. A big part of his success comes thanks to his innovative business strategy, his inventive and exuberant collections and some seriously covetable bags and accessories.
The fashion industry is buzzing about the Spanish designer Johnny Coca. Everyone wants to know how, in just three years, he has turned the Mulberry brand around. A big part of his success comes thanks to his innovative business strategy, his inventive and exuberant collections and some seriously covetable bags and accessories.
Johnny Coca
Mulberry made the right call when they hired Johnny. And I am guessing that decision was pretty much a no brainer for the brand, considering that Johnny spent years working alongside Phoebe Philo at Celine. He was head of the design studio when it came out with the brand’s iconic Trapeze bag. And before that he was coming up with winning accessories for Marc Jacobs at Louis Vuitton.
The man just knows how to make great accessories! And now is turning those design skills towards womenswear collections, all of which so far have garnered warm reviews from top fashion critics.
It was a real treat getting to know Johnny during our conversation. By the end of this interview I was bowled over both by his warm and open nature and his bold clear vision for the future of the Mulberry brand.