Presented during Bogotá Fashion Week, Old Maquiina continued the expansion of its fictional universe with “Chapter 5”, a collection that further develops the brand’s unusual narrative structure, in which each season functions as a fragment within an unfolding story rather than as an isolated exercise in style. Conceived as a book unveiled out of sequence, the collections gradually reveal a mythology centered around AiiA, a figure whose teachings about consciousness and self-realization have been forgotten over time.
Positioned near the end of this larger narrative, “Chapter 5” depicts a world consumed by desire. The spiritual message once carried by its protagonist has faded, leaving behind a society increasingly disconnected from introspection and driven instead by sensation and excess. Red becomes the symbolic language through which this condition is expressed, embodying both passion and the latent fear that accompanies a freedom devoid of inner direction.
The accompanying text describes an almost mythical celebration whose details have become fragmented through memory. Set beneath a red sky, the story portrays a society that has abandoned transcendence in favor of immediate gratification. Bodies, mirrors, translucent materials and fleeting pleasures replace the spiritual practices once associated with AiiA, culminating in a gathering where desire reaches its peak but fails to provide any lasting transformation. The collection’s concluding sentiment is perhaps its most revealing: despite the pursuit of countless identities and experiences, no one becomes divine.
This tension between ecstasy and emptiness informs the collection’s visual language. Red serves as the dominant chromatic force, establishing the emotional atmosphere while providing a framework for the study of natural forms and textures. Leaves, flowers, insects and birds become points of departure for the development of silhouettes and surfaces, with their structures translated into pleated constructions, organic textures and layered compositions.
Old Maquiina balances these references with a dialogue between architecture and art. For “Chapter 5”, Baroque architecture infused with Gothic elements provides the collection’s structural foundation, introducing notions of ornamentation, verticality and dramatic contrast. These ideas are reinforced through influences drawn from Baroque and Renaissance painting, contributing to garments characterized by greater visual density, sculptural volumes and heightened proportions.
Material experimentation remains central to the brand’s practice. Heat-manipulated organza, pleated veils, oxidized denim embellished with stones and thermally fixed vinyl applications create surfaces that oscillate between delicacy and decay. Rather than functioning as decorative gestures, these processes serve to reinforce the collection’s broader themes of seduction, transformation and excess.
What distinguishes Old Maquiina is the consistency with which fashion becomes a narrative device. “Chapter 5” does not merely offer a collection of garments but rather a chapter within a larger cosmology, one in which clothing becomes a medium through which questions surrounding memory, desire and spiritual loss are explored. As the brand gradually unveils the story that has remained implicit throughout its previous collections, it reveals an ambition that extends beyond seasonal production and toward the construction of a fully realized fictional world, one where mythology and materiality remain inseparable.
Photos: Courtesy of BFW
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HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE COLLECTION
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