Since founding her label in 2016, Bárbara Sánchez-Kane has defied conventions of fashion, art, gender, and the Mexican status quo. Her idiosyncrasy has put the brand on the radar of many at a national and international level; it has come to stand for Mexican camp.
Six years in, Sánchez-Kane-isms include the brand’s motto, Macho Sentimental; absurdity and chaos; impulses, both sexual and creative; and the body as canvas. All these leitmotifs were present in the new collection. Sánchez-Kane presented it at the Kurimanzutto Gallery in Mexico City, where she also exhibits her artwork, before an audience asked to dress entirely in black. “You will be an important part of the piece,” the invitation read. Yes, a piece—not a collection. For Sánchez-Kane there’s no dividing line between art and fashion; it’s all a symbiosis that satisfies her need to create.
The piece in question consisted of a runway that was also a performance: Runway because there were models in her designs; performance because there was dance, declamation, singing, and even a certain ritual around a drone. With Sánchez-Kane each garment tells a story; when combined they become a kind of cadaver exquisito, a delicious absurdity of ideas that leaves more questions than answers. Consider the buckets that various models carried with them: At first glance, they looked like plastic but were actually made of leather. Why? The answer doesn’t matter; they’re objects that can fulfill any function. For Sánchez-Kane, they’re also vehicles to reflect on plastic, our excessive use of it, and if we go further, a comment about consumerism. Hello, Duchamp!
One thing that always remains clear with Sánchez-Kane is that she knows how to make a suit. She dominates the craft, and because of that she can do whatever she wants with it. We saw jackets with insane proportions, unusual pants, and, to top them off, amazing hats that seemed like sculptures. The two common denominators: experimentation and savoir faire.
