In the Jeans: Marques’ Almeida
Gives Denim a Whole New Look for Spring 2013

Denim die-hards (this writer included) sitting on the front row of Marques’ Almeida’s presentation at Somerset House this afternoon were in for a wardrobe-altering experience. Dipped in forest-green dye or bleached sparkling white and then layered under elegantly disheveled silk, the looks that came down the runway were nothing like your favorite true blues, even if they were cut from the same cloth. Designers Marta Marques and Paulo Almeida have always used jeans as the foundation of their work, transforming the frayed hemline—once a grunge-era act of sartorial defiance—into a very stylish hallmark. “It’s more fun when we can relate to the pieces in a personal way,” said Marques. Her partner, Almeida, remembers the strapless slip dresses and boob tubes of his youth in Portugal in the late 90s and early 2000s, even if those pieces didn’t exactly figure into his teenage wardrobe. “Jeans, yes. Dresses, no!” he said, laughing. Not that there wasn’t a good dose of the tomboy in this collectsion, including slouchy cargo shorts that were worn with swathes of wispy chiffon and oversize polo shirts. As the models took their final lap on the runway, a few unexpected flourishes: denim clamdiggers and boxy T-shirts, once distressed, were suddenly in full bloom, and covered in hand-shorn appliqué flowers.