MADRID, Oct 26, 2009 / — A highly visual collection, some electric rubberized colours and a lot of “ton sur ton”, not too many prints.
Alma Aguilar’s summer fashion is fresh, sweet and at the same time sophisticated and perhaps has a traditional air to it on account of how well it is made and its exquisite luxury. Continuing her initiation into couture, she takes a direction that fascinates her making her turn out creations that are romantic and chic, but more relaxed than usual.
Garments are light but at the same time meticulously worked, although it doesn’t matter if no-one knows except the person wearing them. This is the concept that defines Alma Aguilar; you don’t need to keep up appearances, just be yourself.
There is a very tiny reference to India, perhaps because Alma Aguilar just paid a visit there. Natural fabrics such as silk and cotton in almost all their expressions: gauze, muslin, satin, crêpe, gabardine, chiffon…
A Madrid native, Alma Aguilar was born into a family of the arts; her father is a jazz musician and her mother, a painter and poet.
At an early age, Alma had profound artistic interests. She spent the majority of her childhood with her grandmother, who was a dressmaker; and thus, Alma’s first contact with the world of dressmaking; a world which fascinated her.
After combining her academic studies with drawing, she began to study design, illustration and pattern designing at the Industrial Design College, Madrid (Escuela Superior de Técnicas Industriales de la Confección, Madrid).
In March 1995, Alma won the Madrid “Alternative Design Competition I” and in June, second prize at the “Prado Gallery” competition (“Galería del Prado”) for young European designers. For two years, she worked as a freelance illustration designer as well as pattern designer thus developing all her facets.
In May 1998, at age 23, Alma Aguilar creates her own company, and in Sept. from her small workshop in Madrid, her first Prêt-à-Porter 1999 Spring-Summer Collection is born.
She debuted at Cibeles Fashion Show in Madrid in September 2001, when she was 25 years old, and the youngest designer to present a collection that season.
