FW 23/24

TRANS - FORM

The prefix trans is part of words like transform, translate, transmit, transfer, transpire, transplant, transport, and many others where the idea of change is implied.

TRANS - FORM portrays the constant will of human beings to change, especially their physical appearance, by resorting, for example, to different haircuts and colours, make-up that redesigns the face or clothes that alter the silhouette, highlighting or hiding the physical form. These transformations are transversal, either for fashion reasons or simply because of dissatisfaction with their own body, leading, in extremis, to more definitive changes through plastic surgery.

If we go back in the History of Fashion, we realize that this desire to transform the body is not exclusive to contemporaneity. We find structured or padded underwear, which Dino Alves considers to be a kind of prosthesis: placed underneath the garments, various types of corsets thinned the waist, making the hips stand out; the tournures, which increased them even more; the crinolines and other types of fillers that, for one reason or another, altered the physical silhouette, especially of women. The Designer recreates these interior accessories, used in the 19th century, bringing them out and assuming them as part of the skirts, dresses and trousers themselves. From them, he creates other elements and develops new forms, creating silhouettes that are sometimes surreal, sometimes bizarre, but always with a concern for a new elegance.

For autumn/winter 2023, Dino Alves presents a modeling that alters the body's natural silhouette and constructs elements that convey the idea of transformation: of fabrics, of pieces. He uses draperies and the logic of the crinolines is applied to other parts of the clothes. Wool, knitwear, tulle, denim, serge, organic cotton, poplin, vinyl, georgette, organza, viscose and quilting come in black, nude, white, blue, yellow, pink, pale salmon and lilac.

In this collection, Dino Alves talks about the freedom to change our appearance. We just can’t change our essence!