Miguel Adrover (Q3376)
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Miguel Adrover is a fashion house from FMD.
| Language | Label | Description | Also known as |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | Miguel Adrover |
Miguel Adrover is a fashion house from FMD. |
Statements
The symbolism was impossible to avoid. At 5 p.m. this evening, Alexander Wang debuted his latest collection to a packed house in midtown. At 6 p.m.—or thereabouts, since it was a long, traffic-jammed drive between venues—Miguel Adrover returned to the fashion stage with a show at Teatro Latea on the Lower East Side, where he presented his famous Quentin Crisp collection 12 years ago. Today, Wang is the paradigm of up-and-coming New York designers: A commercial juggernaut, with his supply chain and streetwise merchandising firmly in hand. A dozen years before, the paradigm was Adrover, a pauper stitching together garments from an old mattress. Times—needless to say—have changed.Adrover's goal this evening was an ambitious one: More or less, he wished to stage a fashion revolution, one inspired by the fresh leaves being turned over in the Middle East. As he put it after the show, he wanted "to lose contact with fashion as it is now, and to set forth a new vocabulary." It's hard to argue with a guy who comes over as a cross between Jesus and Pan, but it seems fair to point out that the clothes he showed tonight had a pretty familiar vocabulary, one he essentially established himself. That said, it was nice to be refreshed on it; more than a few designers, Wang included, have played with Adrover's ideas over the years, but seeing his dresses made from backwards button-downs, suit jackets, and baseball caps was like sitting in on a deconstruction master class. Adrover is an incomparable imagineer, as they say at Disney; he sees potential for interesting volumes in the most mundane garments, and uses all his marvelous skill as a tailor and patternmaker to bring those visions to life.But the most intriguing pieces on the runway tonight were the ones that witnessed Adrover's contact with street style, both local and far afield. There were his drooped, hip-hop redolent trousers and stacked baseball caps; and eerily beautiful, brightly colored burka dresses. It would have been nice to see him pursuing more of those experiments, rather than, say, sending out a tunic covered with sock-puppet cats. (Attack! Attack!) Another quibble: the models tossing out Cuban peso notes as they sidled down the catwalk. This is the kind of thing that gives fashion people a reputation as un-deep thinkers. Adrover isn't glib, but in some ways his critique of the commercialization of fashion felt thin, and the strewn bills underlined that impression.
Rage against the machine, by all means, but the leveling blow will always come from the rager who's worked to understand it.
10 February 2012
Miguel Adrover’s spring/fall 2005 collection started out like gangbusters, right from the first look—a navy suit tailored with the precision for which he’s known. That was followed by more classic suitings and then two lovely gowns, one in a woolly windowpane, another in ribboned chiffon. The show could have stopped there; Adrover, in about five looks, had demonstrated his talent. But the show went on—and on, and on, for almost 90 more looks.It’s not that he didn’t have a story to tell; this season, the narrative-loving designer explored the glories of the Old West, from the cowboys and Indians, the beauty of native craft, even the cost of imperialism, and put it on the runway with a powerful (if excessively long) fusion of design, styling, and music. Adrover has always been passionate about his craft, experimenting with odd materials and unexpected volume, and this season he showed that skill in an expertly balanced quilt-front skirt, and a smocked and pleated gingham dress. He can also do straight sportswear—as seen in the totem suits, duster coats, and trenches. But just as the show wound down, the designer himself walked out in a T-shirt printed with “Anyone see a backer?”, and the thread of the tale was broken. As much as he embraces American culture, Adrover’s always positioned himself as an outsider with no desire to play the fashion game; with talent like his, let’s hope there’s a happy ending in his future.
9 September 2004
For his spring 2005 collection, narrative-loving designer Miguel Adrover explored the glories of the Old West. Cowboys and Indians, the beauty of native craft, and even the cost of imperialism were among his themes, and he put them all on the runway in a powerful (if excessively long) fusion of design, styling, and music. While Adrover’s loin cloth, buffalo-printed cape, waist-length blazers, and face paint for men are not likely to be seen at the local dive bar, his expert tailoring—seen in impressively cut jackets with military-style detailing—was right on target. And come next spring, no self-respecting rugged individualist will want to be without Adrover’s Marlboro Man trench.
9 September 2004
Miguel Adrover, one-time messiah and part-time pariah of the New York fashion world, returned to the tents with a collection entitled “thesurrealrealworld.” Divided into nine sections, the show opened with a face- and body-painted model who walked down a darkened runway to the sound of cicadas and the artificial lightning of a corps of paparazzi. From there, Adrover took his audience on a continent-hopping jaunt, finally returning to his aesthetic roots: tailored prep-school looks and uniforms, daring feats of drapery, and ingenious trompe l’oeil constructions.Some of the show’s kookier experiments included a UPS man’s exit onto the runway (thank you, sponsor), a model whose cape was actually a banner calling for “world peace, please,” and a man who carried the weight of the world on his shoulders (via a Tom Sawyer stick from which hung a cloth globe). Mixed in among these, though, were some moments of genuine euphoria. Adrover used shredded cloth and ribbons of lining tape to make beautiful, African-inspired, plume-like capes and jackets and skirts. There were draped, dress-like jumpsuits; dresses whose back panels tied in front, apron-style; and lots of classic American prep--impeccably tailored suits, coats, and elbow-patched blazers, paired with oxford shirts and khakis and wonderful knits.Adrover himself took to the runway in what looked like a top, a vest, and two coats, but was in fact all one piece (there was also a female version). The most memorable exit—perfectly illustrating both the designer’s extreme lyricism and his technical expertise—was a dress that was also a ship: long, hand-painted with masts, and with a white sail/train rigged to the back.
14 September 2003
The last couple years have been a roller-coaster ride for Miguel Adrover. The one-time media darling known for transforming humble materials into tailored tours de force became the black sheep of the industry after back-to-back seasons of Egyptian-inspired fashions that fell flat at retail. So his spring show was a make-or-break event—and Adrover more than rose to the occasion.Titled “Citizen of the World,” the collection was inspired by the New York immigrant experience. But from look one (Omahyra wearing striped trousers and a fringed “ghetto” tank top made of do-rags), it was clear that the clothes transcended the labels (“banker,” “hasidim,” “traveler”) and themes (a tarmac-styled runway) imposed on them. The strongest looks, like a simply elegant, extra-large T-shirt dress, were gimmick-free, while Adrover’s sharkskin suits and “New Yorker” blazer were crowd-pleasing exercises in precision tailoring. For evening, the designer seemed to channel Adrian, sending out a Jean Harlow–worthy silk satin dress and a high-wattage, Swarovski-beaded gown miraculously pieced together from myriad puzzle-shaped pieces.All this was presented to a soundtrack that morphed from takeoffs and landings to a steady heartbeat. An apt metaphor for a career that now looks to be on a straight—and resolutely individual—track.
20 September 2002
Over the past year, Miguel Adrover has traveled several times to Egypt, bringing back with him images of flowing djellabas, loose harem pants and floor-length monastic skirts. For Spring, Adrover continued to explore Middle Eastern-inspired themes with everything from ornate skirts embellished with tassels and leather waistbands, to colorful patchwork wraps and skirts quilted with elaborate lattice patterns. Long, delicately printed desert dresses were worn under strict colonial blazers, and trouser suits were pegged at the ankle.The ethnic journey began with serene, austere peasant tunics, but eventually gave way to a crescendo of primary colors. A tongue-in-cheek Jamaican-themed segment consisted of red, black, yellow and green suits; a long column gown was painted with an extraordinary Middle Eastern vista. Model Oluchi, enveloped in layers of multihued chiffon, resembled a nomadic tribal goddess.Adrover's collection was very beautiful—and, as usual, long and uncompromising. Not everything will be for everyone, but at a time when cookie-cutter fashion is increasingly commonplace, Adrover’s independent spirit is more relevant than ever.
8 September 2001
When most people travel abroad they bring back pictures, postcards, and perhaps a trinket or two from the local tourist traps. Miguel Adrover and his creative director, Sebastian Pons, spent six weeks in Egypt, lived with a family in the countryside for 24 days, and returned to New York with enough inspiration for a full-fledged Middle Eastern collection.Adrover’s Egyptian jaunt, which was staged in an incense-drenched market-turned-tent, included everything from floor-length caftans and coats worn with turbans and chadors to blazers with harem pants and jodhpurs, layered printed tunics and jet-black robes. Adrover also sent out several nomads carrying large packages on their heads, strict military cadets, colonial-era emissaries, and a shepherdess who was left sans sheep when the fluffy creature refused to take to the runway.Some may argue that few women will want to wear endless layers of earth-sweeping gowns for everyday life. But it’s a pleasure to confirm that fashion is not always just about stilettos and tarty see-through tops. Those who absolutely insist on practicality can simply pass on Adrover’s more fanciful looks and concentrate on the chic trousers, smart skirts, plaid jackets and ruffled dresses that will work perfectly well in any cosmopolitan environment.
10 February 2001
Spanish designer Miguel Adrover’s Spring 2001 collection proved that he is one of the most creative and insightful talents in his field. An impeccable navy suit and cream blouse with matching navy trim set the tone for the show, providing the perfect prelude to a series of polished looks. Featuring comfortable blazers with straight-legged trousers, masculine shirts and casual polos, Adrover brought to mind a Pimm’s-and-lemonade-sipping debutante enjoying the good life in Bermuda. But his archetypal woman has many faces: Interspersed among his parade of proper uptown ladies were ghetto-fabulous home girls with bandannas and cutoff shirts, Army cadets in strict olive-green uniforms and streetwise chicks in distressed jeans. Shockingly, they all blended in seamlessly, forming a chic procession of mix-and-match style tribes.The key to Adrover’s success lies in his ability to appropriate diverse cultural elements to create something utterly new. While most native New Yorkers develop early on a talent for deciphering stereotypes and social codes, Adrover knows that, sometimes, it is the foreigners who ultimately get it right.
16 September 2000
Miguel Adrover confirmed with his second collection that he is one of the most creative new talents on the fashion scene. The Spanish designer clearly has an outstanding ability to identify the fashion moment, detect its undercurrents and transform them according to his unique sensibility. His presentation featured everything—from reconfigured garments made out of Burberry coats, Louis Vuitton purses and vintage denim to soft, feminine blouses with gathered sleeves, and strict, deftly tailored dresses with unfinished asymmetric hems. There were also functional plaid pants, chunky knits and ornate, spider-woven beaded evening dresses. The word is out: Adrover has shown that it is possible to maintain an independent creative spirit, and simultaneously produce chic, wearable clothes.
5 February 2000