The Cultural Clothing Icon
Urbana Chappa
The Cultural Clothing Icon
They say the more flavors you stir into the pot, the tastier soup it makes. Pulling from Persian, Middle Eastern, and Western design aesthetics, Urbana Chappa has created a cultural melting pot in her 2013 RTW runway collection. In twenty odd looks, Ms. Chappa has clearly defined her personal design ethic of blurring the lines between East and West.
Coming from an ancestral melting pot of her own with black, Persian, and Spanish parentage, Ms. Chappa can clearly appreciate the miasmic creations you can produce if you combine cultures in new and interesting ways. For her label, Maison de Urbana, Chappa does not merely juxtapose one cultural clothing icon, like a veil, against another, like a knit sweater. She blends those icons with unlikely materials, and more poignantly with surprising colors. When she uses the iconic Middle Eastern veil, which has become an international social symbol, she restrains from issuing it in the stark black, but rather celebrates that historical tradition with bright yellow, in a gorgeous lace rather than the obvious cotton fabric.
One could say that the veil, or burqa, should be considered the collection’ s signature“ look”. In a recent press release, Chappa revealed that,“ I’ m fascinated at the way women in burqas can express so much through their eyes. It’ s both sexy and mysterious.” This fascination shines through the collection, effectively capturing the Middle Eastern motif with a fresh and original eye.
An apparent genius when it comes to lace and sewing, Chappa never gives you anything expected. If she has gone out of her way to create a beautifully tailored black and white checkered knit pencil skirt, then she pairs it with an electric blue synthetic top, jolting the eye in an effort to shock and awe. This is no game for Chappa, who clearly came to LA Fashion Week to make a social commentary on how women use fashion to culturally and socially define themselves, all around the world.
The LA Fashion magazine | 63