Organized by Inexmoda, the institute behind Colombiamoda and many of the country’s most significant fashion events, BCapital is the fair that aims to position Bogotá as the fashion capital of Colombia. For three days, local fashionistas come together to celebrate what many consider to be the most progressive fashion event in the country.

Innovative Formats

This edition of BCapital demonstrated that in order to impact a range of audiences and effectively communicate fashion, innovative formats like fashion films, documentaries, runway shows, performance art, interactive installations, conferences, workshops, and pop-up shops, are essential. The event is organized by unconventional formats so that end consumers can connect with brands on three different levels: education (BSmart), runway shows (BFashion), and shopping and designer showcases (BCool).

Unisex and Queer clothing

Tasked with opening BCapital, designer Carlos Cortés of Polite started off the event on a provocative note, breaking down barriers with his manifesto ‘I'm not a woman. Am I a man? No, I'm an individual,’ which inspired his latest collection.

Introduced by a fashion film by New York-based Noir tribe, Polite’s inclusive collection explores the fluidity of gender and the importance of the individual. Models—male or female—wear silhouettes and pieces fashioned for women, not as an example of crossdressing but rather, to make a statement that there is no gender.

Perhaps the biggest statement of the entire event came from PAPI, the self-proclaimed “hottest queer brand” presenting a collection of ensembles inspired by drag queens and fantasy that emboldens freedom of expression.

Ethical Fashion

Whereas queer was perhaps the hottest topic of the event, ethical fashion is a theme that more and more creatives are choosing to incorporate into their designs.

While Polite abides by fair trade standards and helps educate consumers about sustainable fashion and respect for craftsmanship, the brand A New Cross produces their contemporary couture in minimal quantities, calling their designs “ethical and slow fashion,” in reference to a process that is respectful and conscious of the environment and has worked with artisans in communities of the Cundiboyacense region located outside of Bogotá.

Promoting Colombian Talent Abroad

Next, one of the most anticipated events of BCapital was a talk with fellow bogotano Esteban Cortázar, who has lived in Paris for the past ten years working as a designer and promoting Colombian talent abroad. In celebration of the Colombia-France year, Cortázar created a capsule collection for Paris boutique Colette that included everything from books and sweets to artisan crafts, music, and special items made for the collection. Now available in Colombia at Seven Seven, Cortázar and creative director of CREO Consulting, Cloclo Echavarría, emphasized the importance of collaboration for the success and renewal of any brand.

Preserving Artisanal Traditions

To close the three-day-long fashion event, Revista Fucsia presented their latest project “Maestros Ancestrales” (Ancestral Masters), an initiative created to protect, maintain and promote the masterful expressions of those behind many local brands: artisans. MAZ created printed pieces related to indigenous geometry, while Isabel Henao explored a more elegant line of ruby red tonalities, and ALDEA presented printed and pleated dresses rendering tribute to a community of the Chocó region. bcapital.com.co

Photos courtesy of Inexmoda.