Charo Ruiz launches first autumn collection to widespread acclaim
Structured silhouettes, nostalgic details and sustainable, tactile fabrics take the iconic Ibiza brand into cooler season.
The idea of Ibiza as a summer-only island is old news. Spring is the most vibrant and vivacious season, with lengthening days, abundant nature and a buzz of anticipation in the air. Autumn – the most languid time in Ibiza - is a season of blue skies, warm seas and extended opening hours in the island’s fabled clubs and restaurants.
Now, the celeb-fave favourite Ibiza resort wear brand Charo Ruiz has followed suit, releasing their first collection for autumn in a move away from simply summer lines. ‘The brand is not solely for women who live in the Mediterranean sun,’ declares the Ibiza label's director of fashion, Alberto Amador. ‘Our customer is international and her wardrobe needs to reflect the changing seasons.’
Amador has a long history with the brand. A native Ibicenco, he was educated alongside the founder’s children Paloma and Pablo and understands the Charo woman intimately. Charo Ruiz herself is fashion force, a style-setter of the 20th century whose whimsical label, born in the late 1970s, became the go-to for Spanish icons such as Queen Letizia and television star Cristina Pedroche. With his contemporary outlook and influential circle, Alberto Amador has been largely responsible for in the globalisation of the brand, which now has standalone stores in Ibiza, Marbella and Madrid. In his role as fashion director, he has updated Charo’s offering both in terms of design and production. While sticking to the voluminous cuts, the sensuous lace and the embroidered detailing beloved by fans, Amador has introduced contemporary, body-con shapes and sustainable nettle-based textiles, a substitute for the environmentally draining cotton crop which requires less water to grow and negates the need for pesticides.
The new autumn collection also includes upcycled materials in its timeless edit of blouses, jumpsuits and bohemian dresses that will suit the Charo customer - a modern world traveller who ‘lives in the city but dreams of the heat, perhaps with a second residency in the sun’ - according to Amador. The designer cites a roomy cream shirt that can take its wearer from ‘the beach to dinner to the nightclub’ as a standout item of the collection, whose feminine cuts, nostalgic silhouettes and tactile natural fabrics may just be the hit of the season.