The above photograph reminded me of one summer night in Madrid. Sitting on the steps of my uncle’s house, too jet-lagged to sleep, I was stunned by what I saw: as it grew dark, everything became deep blue and yellow.
In painting both deep blue and yellow (or gold) are considered mystical colors. The dark, enigmatic blue (also known as cobalt blue) has its own name in Spanish: azulón.
Most Spanish artists love using these two colors to represent the mysterious powers of the universe. Here are two famous examples:
This fashion show, featuring both established and emerging Spanish fashion designers, set out to reinterpret the outfits from the “Las Santas de Zurbarán” – “The Women Saints of Zurbaran“, a series of paintings by the famous Spanish baroque master. The above creation is by a novice designer (couldn’t get her/his name, unfortunately). Judging by the stylized shepherdess cloak, the model is representing this painting by Zurbarán:
The first modern Spanish designer to acknowledge his debt to Zurbarán was Cristóbal Balenciaga.
Another Spanish couturier, Elio Berhanyer (who once worked with Balenciaga and designed for Hollywood celebrities like Ava Gardner), refers to Zurbarán as Spain‘s first fashion designer.
Prominent fashion designer and Andalusian native Elio Berhanyer was in charge of putting together a team of designers for the show and contributed his own designs, drawing inspiration from Zurbarán‘s “Saint-Casilda” and “Saint Isabel of Portugal“.
Two golden angels on the catwalk:
Featured image: Sanlúcar de Barrameda (Cádiz province, Andalusia, Spain) at dusk.
