Oscar Wilde emerged as Carlota Barrera’s latest muse. The designer imagined an entire narrative around the author, one that unfolded not only through the garments but via a travel diary that accompanied the collection. At its center was a Dorian Gray-esque protagonist who took us on an immersive journey; by night, he stepped out in a crisply starched shirt and an impeccably tailored tuxedo—a pristine elegance that slowly faded as the hours went by, through rolled-up sleeves and loosened collars. “It’s about the journey of the garments, how they transform, as he does, throughout the night,” Barrera explained. Woven into this metamorphosis was a meditation on masculinity, femininity, and the inexorable passage of time.
At their core, the pieces reflected how clothing evolves with us. “I want to create collections with a life of their own—because life, after all, is revealed through the smallest gestures,” Barrera shared. It’s a concept the brand has been exploring over several seasons. At first glance, the garments appear to be torn or distressed, but a closer look reveals an almost obsessive precision in their construction. “That’s the playful, punk aspect of it all,” she said. “It might look like everything’s been ripped apart, but every detail has been carefully considered.”
Duality lies at the heart of Barrera’s vision, a balance of knowing the rules of tailoring and knowing when to break them. “There’s a phrase that captures the essence of the collection,” she noted. “‘Before the beginning of great brilliance, there must be chaos.’” And indeed, nothing was quite what it seemed: unexpected double collars, sashes that transformed into belts, cufflinks with whale motifs on them, shirts teetering on the brink of slipping off, and jackets worn inside-out to reveal their lining. It was a collection where garments intertwined and interacted, each marked by a subtle, subversive twist.