Mexico Fashion Week is celebrating its 15th anniversary at a time when Mexico is experiencing a creative effervescence that goes beyond the country’s own borders. The Venezuelan label By Efrain Mogollón was a special guest this season, a welcome addition as one of the generation of Latin American designers who has established the definition of ”Caribbean Chic.”
For spring, Mogollón leaned into his codes, which include playing with volume, draping, a silhouette that embraces curves, and the exuberance of the Caribbean. A trip the designer took with his family to Choroní, one of the most beautiful coasts in Venezula (where Björk has vacationed before) was his inspiration, though not through any of the usual tropes. There were no palm trees or cayenne flowers, but blues and golds that were reminiscent of a sunset on Uricao beach. The “movement of the waves,” translated into the swing of the skirts with folded hems.
Although Mogollón hung on to his winning tricks, it was refreshing to see how he experimented with more versatile designs and materials, like denim and knits that were without a doubt his most exciting proposals in recent years. “The woman who wears the garment can elevate it herself and give it the formality she wants,” he said.