Ana Locking - A Short Story of Weird Girls
A brand that I fell in love with and expect to hear a lot more of in the future, is Ana Locking. I was thrilled to meet Madrid based designer Ana Gonzalez backstage just before her show, and she told me a bit about the Ana Locking womenswear brand, as she talked me through the collection. Ana explains that her signature is the juxtaposition between artisanal hand-made details and avant-garde design, “I've learned it's important to not limit yourself. I’ve always tried to do what I really love, no matter how many obstacles I’ve encountered. My work is the result of all my life experiences!” The concept of every collection is inspired by contemporary art, youth culture and personal life experiences and the attention to detail in her collection is phenomenal.
“A Short Story of Weird Girls” was the name of the collection and it aimed to subvert female identity stereotypes and strip away the clichés surrounding women. For this, Ana worked on five aesthetic silhouettes that represent a conversation between five women. The collection would connect with any woman who feels “weird’ and we have all been there!
The collection had two lines, which included everything from tight nude bodysuits to tailoring, to my favourite crystal encrusted ‘eye’ embellishments. There was an exciting clash of floral prints, bold stripes, glittery tulle, silver mesh and jacquard knits. The result was an avant-garde yet wearable collection that any and every woman would find something in, whether they felt weird or not!
For her show Ana had created a limited edition newspaper that was placed on all seats to explain the concept and also shared the work of numerous artists, a collectable receptacle that was a key part of the collection storytelling.