A rather unusual way to make a political fashion statement. Celebrating the wicker-basket codpiece.
All I can say is that Blackadder would have been jealous…
Talented Hvar designer Toni Rico caused a stir at the end of Zagreb Fashion Week this weekend, if I have understood the news properly, with a quite sensational design of the humble codpiece produced from traditional Croatian materials.
Croatian swear words are really quite special, and I never cease to be surprised at hearing kids at kindergarten referring to parts of their friends’ mothers’ bodies by way of insult. So too with the male body, and one popular swear word – kurac – refers to the male appendage.
‘Država u kurcu, moda za kurac, kupujmo Hrvatsko!’ How to translate that politely? ‘The state has gone to the dogs, fashion for the male appendage, buy Croatian!’ does not quite get the message across, but the point Rico was making is that the poor economic situation the country is in has had a negative effect on the traditional crafts of Croatia, with the focus for this show on the wicker-basket craftmakers close to the Hungarian border.
(The original Blackadder codpiece below)
The result? I am not sure what was more striking – the well-endowed male models parading Rico’s work, or the looks on the faces of the young ladies, iPhone cameras at the ready, in the front row of the show. For a full gallery and interview with Toni Rico, click here.
Highly original stuff from a Hvar designer whose career is heading only in one direction.
