For this second collection, Armando Costa celebrates Japan. Inspired by maneki-neko, the show opens the dance with a colorful collection. A traditional Japanese ceramic or porcelain statue, the Maneki Neko, also known as a "lucky cat", represents a cat sitting up and raising the paws at the level of the ear.
Armando Costa is a talented designer graduated from the Istituto Marangoni and then from DAMS in Bologna in art history.
Contacted by the Istituto Marangoni, he participated with a selection of former students to launch a new project aimed at creating a collection with the support of the school.
The show MANEKINEKO SS19 took place in "The garage" of the Istituto Marangoni in the 8th district of Paris. This extremely detailed and data-rich collection features clothes cut from a variety of fabrics, from wool to cotton to denim. The models wander barefoot, to the rhythm of drums.
Armando Costa's collection of SS19 men's clothing seems to be born from the fusion of two imaginations that, from a European point of view, seem to be the opposite: the United States and Japan. Armando Costa was inspired by the linearity of the Hokusai and Ukiyo prints and filtered by invading and aggressive manga and urban imagery made up of bright and colorful neon signs. All this combined with the culture of the west coast of the United States, especially in Los Angeles, the pools with David Hockney's painting or Ed Ruscha's pop art.
