Vaquera SS27 brought a whimsical collection to Paris with neon, feathers, huge hats, huge sunglasses and, naturally, a karaoke performance by the designers themselves.
The show of Vaquera SS27 took place at Tajan Auction House, which already felt like a pretty good setting for what was about to happen. The first looks came out in shocking colours, with acid green, fluorescent yellow, hot pink and orange taking over the room. Then came the hats. Then more hats. Then hats that were basically the entire look.
The core of Vaquera SS27 is fun: there were bows, sheer pieces, nylon, leather, feathers, shiny satin, low-slung drop waists and plenty of styling that made you want to stop scrolling and actually look at what was going on.
Some of it was genuinely glamorous. Some of it looked like it had come straight out of a cartoon. Some of it was honestly a little hideous. In the best possible way Vaquera SS27 was a true spectacle to watch.
A tiny cream bubble dress came with a giant white chef-like hat. A black leather look got paired with an oversized belt and a tiny khaki skirt. The Vaquera SS27 displayed an array of satin dresses covered in sparkling details, feather-trimmed shoes, enormous sunglasses and hats so large they sometimes seemed to have their own gravitational space.
And then there were the magic wands.
Small, cartoon-like wands with white tips appeared as accessories, because apparently the collection needed one more thing to make it feel like a very glamorous children’s TV show.
The colours were probably the easiest thing to notice at Vaquera SS27, but the styling kept changing the mood. One look could feel almost preppy – a navy sweater, white shirt and leather shorts – before the next model appeared in a completely neon, sculptural silhouette. There was a lot of layering, and the accessories were doing serious work. Bags were cute, shoes got covered in feathers, belts became oversized, and hats basically became characters.
The hair was equally committed. Models came out with hair sprayed into stiff, spiky shapes that stuck out in every possible direction. Add the sunglasses, hats and dramatic makeup and the whole cast started looking less like models and more like people who had been dropped into a very strange fashion video game.
There was also a surprisingly strong old-Hollywood feeling running through some of the looks. Satin, feathers, sparkling brooches and soft pink brought a little Great Gatsby glamour, except this is Vaquera, so naturally it came with enormous proportions and a fluorescent interruption five looks later.
Olandria was also spotted in the audience, wearing a FW26 Vaquera look. And, notably, she seemed to be having a rare moment of coverage up top. Unfortunately.
The models were also moving fast again. Really fast. Almost https://www.vanityteen.com/magnetic-authentic-modern-ali-latif-is-the-protagonist-of-the-new-digital-cover/jogging. It gave the show a slightly chaotic energy that worked perfectly with the clothes. There was no slow, precious runway walk here. Just look, look, look — and suddenly another enormous hat is coming towards you.
The big finale: what is the show all about?
Instead of the usual designer appearance at the finale, Patric DiCaprio and Bryn Taubensee basically took over the runway themselves. The two came out and performed a karaoke version of I Got You Babe, turning the end of the show into an actual little performance.
Have we ever witnessed designers not just coming out backstage, but fully taking over the stage?
It was hilarious. It was the best.
Vaquera SS27 has never felt particularly interested in behaving like fashion is a very serious business. The clothes can be glamorous, sexy, ridiculous, wearable or completely unhinged within the same collection. Why shouldn’t the designers finish the show by doing karaoke?
SS27 feels like exactly that kind of collection: neon, karaoke, drop waists and hella attitude. There are pieces you could actually wear, pieces that look completely insane, and plenty sitting somewhere in between.