Valencia Fashion Week

Retal Reciclaje Creativo

during World War II when he approached the art of the cinema in order to collaborate in Rome in the making of Città aperta (1945), Rosellini´s masterpiece. In the sixties he became immersed in this oneiric universe in which he became renowned as a director, excelling in works such as Otto e Mezzo (8 ½) and Giulietta degli Spiriti. We trust in the two universes of graphic creation and cinema from the sixties in order to be inspired: the magic of their plans, their stories; the nostalgia of a different culture, secrets whispered in one´s ear, the warmth of their poetry.

Description:

This is a collection that is dominated by the broken white colour and by “tone over tone” fantasies in which large collars, extreme sleeves, pleats and darts determine the line and create an oneiric collection which is both atemporal and Felliniesque. It is dedicated to an elegant and daring woman, who is also a dreamer. All of the shirts in the broken white colour are made with cotton bed sheets. The other colours are: for women – black, grey, blue and fuchsia. For men – purple, red, military green and blue. All of the materials used are recycled cloths.

About Retal:

[...] pleats and dressmaking that are never banal and never casual, which leave room for movements and forms and, above all, attention is paid to the materials which are scrupulously taken from the immense and unused world of the surplus that is rejected by the large cloth producing firms. [...] We have solidarity garments that are created with architectonic care with the idea of sustaining daring companies: there are pleats that are sewn inside out as well as untypical spaces and fillings with the purpose of crating soft and unexpected effects and nuances. It is useless to ask ourselves if it is from the cloth, its consistency, its strength and its intentional roughness that the idea of the model is born or if it is the other way round: the creative act is nourished from the material and the material accompanies it and make it worthwhile, as is always the case. And so Retal garments are fascinating due to their innate and almost childish simplicity, because they always allow the unexpected and transform it into something natural. Once the barrier of back and front and “you do it like this, not like that” has been overcome, you can immediately transform these clothes and play with the cuts and pleats. Perhaps they are a trifle baroque, but are most certainly captivating. And suddenly the lineal edges, which are all the same and typical of a “bourgeoisie mentality”, disappear in order to hug ankles that are not always to be seen. Perhaps with this one “yes” and with the other one “no” and, next we have long backs and hidden collars, slightly asymmetric zips and waves of decorations that remind us of unfurled sails. And as for the colours, there are approaches to chrome that are never insubstantial, taken from a flowing, springtime nature. [...] The garment has a unique quality which only bends to the body that wears it, which chooses it and which gives it life. It is a vision of fashion which is as innovative as it is “old” and which recovers the true craftsmanship of tailoring - the selection of the model and of the tissues depending on who will wear it and what the features of his/her body and personality are - and it is also one which provides flexibility and care to those typical finishes that come from our current technology. Thus, we have one foot in the past and the other one in the future. [...]

Elisabetta Della Valle, a journalist and art critic. (Nella Nebbia, December 2009)