Beauty and art direction Antonia Rosa using Maqpro
Photography and postproduction Mari Martins at PS Retoucher
Make-up team Joana Lopes • Catarina Mata • Antonio Santos Almeida • Tania Rute Dias
Models Priscila Borges • Axana • Elsa Zigger • Carminda at FACE Models
Words and interview by Guido Avelino
Recently, ZOOT payed a visit to Valentim Quaresma’s studio to speak with the designer-cum-visual artist about his creative process, current projects and the striking headpieces he created for his SS23 collection “Invisible Maze”, which are featured below. For this photoshoot, Brazilian photographer Mari Martins captured Valentim’s wearable art—simultaneously menacing and enchanting—with a pop of colour introduced by ZOOT’s Beauty Editor Antonia Rosa and her team.
Not a fan of sketching beforehand, Valentim approaches his design with trial and error, creating pieces as it goes, discovering techniques and adjusting if needed. The use of aluminium for the helmets is a wise one: mobile, comfortable and light as a feather, they are extremely sharp but easy to wear.
While Valentim is known for his gothic approach, this time Antonia embraced the use of colour in the make-up, creating a new narrative that diverges from the steampunk motif we are used to seeing from the designer. “I always like to work with black, making a counterpoint between the dark and the metal” Valentim says. The primordial use of black leaves space for the accessories to beam on its own, highlighting texture and technique, all in one.
As for the beauty, Antonia points out that “while doing the make-up for Valentim at the last ModaLisboa I thought the pieces would look powerful in full monochrome makeup looks, or even merging a lot of metallics together.” Taking on the challenge, her students held on to the colorful briefing – adding another layer of depth to the photoshoot and the fierce look of the models.
Avian blades
Make-up by Joana Lopes
Worn by Priscila Borges
The process is always continuous. When I’m making a collection, ideas always come up that I’ll use later for other [collections]. Until I manage to assemble the whole story I want to present in a fashion show, things are happening. I experiment a lot; there is experimentation with materials—mainly clothes, where there is more manipulation. The strongest pieces are always born at the end when I already have a more refined general idea, but the collection is always planned at the same time. I’m testing and experimenting, there’s no way anyone can get into my head, right? Sometimes some do, but it has to be something organic, to also organize the team of people working with me as well.
– Valentim Quaresma
Crown of thorns
Make-up by Catarina Mata
Worn by Axana
The headpieces are a continuation of what I had been working on in terms of clothing. I wanted to make a counterpoint between the clothing pieces and the accessories. The collection is called Invisible Maze, which has to do with my creative process of trying to find answers in the middle of the mistakes made in the journey. To un-complicate the initial idea that sometimes gets faded in the making. This collection is a bit of that: it starts with something very simple and ends with those big headpieces that tell a greater story.
– Valentim Quaresma
Primordial bones
Make-up by Antonio Santos Almeida
Worn by Elsa Zigger
Everything came about to give the collection a warrior feel to it. It had to do with the maze concept. I wanted to make a statement regarding my jewellery store. I am always faithful to my creative universe because I have been working for many years. The question is that, with this collection, I really wanted to assume how I define myself as an artist and as a designer, and this collection was a mix of that, both in clothes and accessories. All accessories represent my creative universe. Something more anachronistic that you don’t quite understand if it’s something coming from the future or coming from the past—hence this mixture with more futuristic forms.
– Valentim Quaresma
Triumph in bloom
Make-up by Tania Rute Dias
Worn by Carminda Silva
View the complete SS23 collection here at ModaLisboa.
Valentim Quarema
@valentimquaresma | valentimquaresma.com
To boot…
Check out Valentim Quaresma‘s solo exhibition at Espaço Exibicionista, running now until 10 December 2022.
And view our backstage coverage of Valentim Quaresma´s SS23 collection at ModaLisboa.
