Karlota Laspalas

A burnt piece of paper, which acted as the collection’s press release, revealed just as much about the forthcoming prints as of Pamplona-born designer Karlota Laspalas' inspiration. "When designing the clothes", she said, "I was looking at different shades of paper when it burns at 451 degrees Fahrenheit. The prints show the three steps of burning -from black to brown to beige tones you notice after extingushing fire". And taking the idea of burnt paper as a starting point for her prints, Karlota Laspalas presented a safari-inspired silhouette with shades of brown, khaki and beige dominating the earthy color palette. There were double-breasted jackets and coats teamed with loose-fitting silk pants. Crinkled fabrics appeared alongside cotton and plush suede finishings, while massive backpacks added up to designer’s vision of a nature-loving, urban nomad. Following up on the idea of fire, which dominated the collection’s prints, small metal boxes contained incense were placed in the pockets, creating subtle smoke that followed the models down the runway. But there are more layers to the Spanish designer’s inspiration. "Fahrenheit 451" is a dystopian novel by Ray Bradbury which was first published in a shorter form as 'The fireman' (1951). The short novel presents a future American society in which the masses are hedonistic and critical thought through reading is outlawed. The central character, Guy Montag, is employed as a 'fireman' (which, in this future, means 'bookburner'). Dystopias usually extrapolate elements of contemporary society and function as a warning against some modern trend, like the designer’s poem and statement (below). Getting away from the city and the office might be in the back of Karlota Laspalas’ mind portrayed in her collection as gardeners’ slash workmen’s uniforms.