MANHATTAN — Spanish fashion showed its true colors in SoHo — and it was every shade of red.
The Seventh annual Spanish SoHo Mile on Wednesday night hosted a runway catwalk at SoHo's Mondrian Hotel featuring fashion, footwear and jewelry from Spain, and took shoppers and fashionistas alike through a corridor of Spanish boutiques in SoHo. The event was designed to showcase Spanish style, including from stores like Camper, Mango and Agatha Ruiz de la Prada.
Organizers said they want to show off the fruits of the fashionable European nation and show there's more to Spanish fashion than mainstream boutique Zara.
For the first time this year, the Spain-U.S Chamber of Commerce's fashion initiative partnered with the Fashion Institute of Technology for a student fashion contest called "Follow the Red Dress", to show off up-and-coming talent in the signature color.
Vibrant red, a color closely associated with the culture and history of Spain featured heavily if not exclusively among designs and attendees. Many different hues of red have been seen in key fashion collections in Europe, emerging since the Spring 2012 collections shown in September 2011.
The work presented in "Follow the Red Dress" was historically and culturally inspired by concepts such as Antoni Gaudi's unfinished architecture, Salvador Dali's surrealist style and the matador costume. Most of the womenswear looks were well suited to unique standout occasions — looks constricted in leather, satin, burlap with spike and zipper embelishments.
The menswear featured trendy fabric blocking on wool and felt with a modernist, varsity vibe.
