FATIMA LOPES – Spring/Summer 2017 | FASHION INSIDER MAGAZINE

FATIMA LOPES: The Way of the Waves

October 5, 2016

By Marcellous L. Jones

Photos Courtesy of Fatima Lopes

Paris, France – The new collection by Portuguese designer Fatima Lopes takes us to the shores and beyond for inspiration. Her Spring/Summer 2017 chapter in her career finds her taking imagery from the sea, which she then transfigures and finally transposes in her wardrobe for the season.

Fatima Lopes has always designed clothes for her friends to wear. But first these are the very same garments that she wears. Here we find her heading out to sea where she studies waves. She takes their colors of various hues of blue and green as well as their wild, and unpredictable geometric forms too. We find these elements serving as the recurring themes and subplots of the garments.

The collection is dominated by dresses. All save five formal gowns, are cut short and fall in lengths from above either above the midway point of the thighs to just above the knees. In nearly each of them, either the arms or the shoulders are exposed. Among the most important in the collection are the short white, tuxedo inspiration with lace sleeves; the short one in sea foam green and a hue of blue with its midsection cutouts; and of course the little yellow dress in silk. This last one is simply divine because of its subtleness and resolute femininity. It and the white tuxedo inspired short dress are without doubt the strongest pieces in the collection. And together, they form the MUST-HAVES for every woman with a fit body and athletic legs !

In this writer’s opinion the aforementioned are strongest looks in the collection. However, it would be remiss of me were I to fail in commenting on the jumpsuits. This item is a must-have in any collection these days by any designer. Of those done by the designer, the black halter top number is right on time.

For years, this writer has stated time and time again, “Fatima Lopes must surely have studied architecture. No one in fashion has the ability to add geometric elements into garments in such a way as she does.”

Now of course that statement was directly related to the designer’s geometric strips that she used in her swimwear. (Ironically enough, Fatima Lopes shocked us all with her decision to not present swimwear on the catwalk this season. She placed them in her “off-runway” commercial line.) However we do find her love of geometry revealed in the opposition presented in the first look of the collection. One side of the lapels in the white blazer has angular edges while the other has a soft circular form. We see this effort repeated several times in other pieces of the collection.

Once the show had finished, it became clear that this is another fine collection for Fatima Lopes.