Manuel Pertegaz at Canal de Isabel II, Madrid

Dear Diane, dear Shaded Viewers,

The Canal de Isabel II exhibition space in a 19th century massive brick water tower always opens the fashion season in Madrid showing a monographic exposition of a designer. This year is the turn to Manuel Pertegaz, the couturier that decided not to work for Dior -it’s said- to make it under his own name.

He’s one of the best designers of XX Century in Spain but I wasn’t at all impressed by this exhibition lacking the most elemental information about the dresses -date, materials, owner, etc.-. Even if the pieces selected were very couture the narrative was too plain -if at all present-. The dresses were great but the curatorship was very little impressing.

Still, dedicating one show a year to fashion designers in this magnificent space -that normally holds photography shows- is a great initiative from the local government of the Comunidad de Madrid.

 

Kindly,

Mario.

 

P.S.- On the top floor of the water tower there was a very interesting 360ª fashion video by Eugenio Recuenco that brought the poetry to the world of Pertegaz that I sincerely didn’t find in the lower floors. This audiovisual piece is worth the visit.

Mario Canal

Arts writer and art curator. Spaniard from Madrid with Parisian accent. Used to steal my sister's magazines but fashion is elsewhere now. It's something else. Trying to figure this out while putting new creative projects together.