Going back a bit further to the 1920s, Roland Alzate highlights the era of excessive glamour and sensuality at MEGA Fashion Week 2019.
One of the first things that come to mind when you look back at the roaring 20s will be F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. It was in this epoch where Art Deco motifs, rich velvet or satin dresses embellished with pearls and gems prevailed in fashion—from the flapper girls to the silverscreen starlets.
Aptly dubbed Tamara’s Love Affair with Cartier, Roland Alzate takes his cue from Tamara De Lempicka’s Art Deco renderings of beautiful yet powerful women and iconic Cartier jewelry pieces, reinterpreting it in his own way—over the top and modern maximalist, no less.
While 2015 was the last time Roland did a fashion show, it didn’t look like he stopped doing it for four years. Once the dramatic overture played, shimmery gold and black dress in a simplified silhouette emerged—a clear reference of the era’s penchant for gold, especially of lamé fabrics.
Staying true to the jazz age, the looks that followed were evocative of the three major trends of the decade’s fashion: the tubular, tunic-like styles, kind-of loosely belted dresses at the waist, and with the raised hemlines. But more than that, what truly captivated the crowd was his Art Deco prints on his pieces.
From the digitally printed Cartier classic pieces to striking paintings, Roland provokes this era with unapologetic drama, love, and sensuality. Roland explained backstage that his “design aesthetic is over the top, and you can call it modern maximalist. I like heavy beadwork, prints, and coloring and textures of fabrics.”
Perhaps that’s why it’s quite evident in his collection where all of the exquisite details and embellishments easily complement his pieces. And as each model commanded the catwalk, there sauntered his impeccable deftness with posh yet wearable creations in demi-couture executions. In the long run, Roland Alzate’s runway show proved it doesn’t matter if you take a hiatus, what matters is your passion and love of the arts are intact for you to prevail in a cut-throat industry.
Scroll down to see Roland Alzaté’s Holiday 2019 collection.