Madrid Doesn’t Care
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“After the cafes of Paris with their exquisite wines and creamy fromages, crepes and steak tartare– screaming Adore me!– Madrid was these store-bought hunks of unyielding cheese and brick-hard baguettes, consumed in leafless Buen Retiro Park.ll Madrid, dressed as it was, tasting as it did, prideful as hell, didn’t care what you thought about it on your junior-year backpacking trip. That was your problem.”
Michael Paterniti, The Telling Room: A Tale of Love, Betrayal, Revenge, and the World’s Greatest Piece of Cheese
Michael Paterniti said it best: Madrid doesn’t care what you think about it. It’s a city marching to its’ own beat, begging you to join in while at the same time taunting your inability to keep pace. It is a city with a history steeped in opposing forces. While there has been much effort to shed this past, its’ duality is still evident in the attempt to place emphasis on family and friends all while trying to secure itself as a business epicenter. One is left to wonder what is more important? Madrid doesn’t care. It is happy to straddle the line. It will keep you up all night with friends while demanding you innovate at work. One is exhausted just thinking about it.
If Madrid doesn’t care, Malasana doesn’t even notice. It is the creative nerve center of the city, home to artists’ lofts and studios, fashion designers showrooms, PR firms, photographers, and the general hipster. It is the place to see and the place to be seen. This was the backdrop for the Look on Location Madrid. The graffiti walls and varying building shades compliment any fashion which if you take a moment to sit at one of the outside café’s you will see an overwhelming amount. Everything from designer labels to homemade wears looking like they belong on the runway pass through Malasana. If you want to be inspired come here.
I wanted to capture the essence that is Madrid, the dichotomy between industrial yet grounded in personal interest. I also wanted to highlight Malasana and all that it has to offer. It may not have been paying attention to me but I certainly wanted to acknowledge it.
To highlight the hard edges of Madrid I chose to stay mostly with blacks. One of my favorite things about European fashion is the way black is worn in varying shades and styles. Madrid is not immune to this. But, there is more to Madrid and certainly to Malasana so it would have been wrong to stop there. I chose details that were flirty and playful with small pops of color while not overcomplicating things with accessories. In a city that seemed so industrial you only have to look a bit closer, watch a bit longer to realize areas like Malasana offer up their personalities to those who take the time to notice.
This is what I tried to achieve by choosing a BCBG Max Azria shirt that from afar looks structured but on closer look reveals lighthearted feathering with hints of purple against the grey and black. The faux leather skirt is laser cut to reveal feminine details while not adhering to the traditional coyness you would expect. I chose the BCBG shoes because let’s be honest I wanted to be comfortable but, also wanted to keep the same structure going throughout the outfit while giving way to an innovated take on a traditional chunky heel. The Vera Flap bag in Rose patent by Salvatore Ferragamo was just enough to bring the architecture and colors that is Malasana into the forefront.
I hope you enjoy!
Shirt & Shoes: BCBG Max Azria
Skirt: The Limited
Bag: Salvatore Ferragamo Vera Flap in Patent Rose
Sunglasses: Gucci
Watch: Marc Jacobs
Photographs by: Anna Fawcus
