A special style report from SSLA’s Mexico City correspondent, Camilo Smith:

The sprawling super-metropolis that is Mexico City has bred some pretty impressive fashion talent, from 1960’s style stalwart Pedro Laredo, to current buzz-y designers such as Paola Hernández.

And fashion journalist and blogger Diane Pernet is no stranger to this city. Her cult fashion following crowded into the Teatro Metropólitan in Mexico City’s Centro Histórico on Wednesday to view the traveling version of her fashion film festival, A Shaded View On Fashion, which opened its second year in Paris last fall.

The festival of short were hit and miss — some were boring and too-abstract, while others were fun and interesting.

Standout shorts included the stop-motion,” The Shoelove Affair,” by Manuel Miranda for Sergio Rossi Shoes, which drew cackles from the audience as a sneaker and a red stiletto had rough carpet sex; “I Wanna be Your Dog,” by Georgie Greville, winner of the New Talent award, a musical take on the anxiety models go through in their casting call (it all gets channeled into a decent rendition of the Iggy Pop classic of the same name); and the pseudo-violent “Pursuit,”  by Parisian duo Suzie Q & Leo Siboni, which ripped off the under-the-table shootout in “Die Hard,” but with haute couture.

Closing the festival, after some snoozy parts in the middle, was the out-of-competition screening of the 2005 documentary “Irene Williams, Queen of Lincoln Road.” A smart programming move on the part of Pernet. The 23-minute documentary was a heartwarming little treat that sees a senior citizen’s DIY spirit produce a house-full of color-coordinated, custom-made bags, hats and coats, mostly in heavy pastels.

After the show, Pernet, looking like a modern-day Morticia Adams, noted, “Agents and clients don’t just want a fashion photographer, they want them to learn how to direct and do films, and I think that’s great. It’s still
the beginning, but it’s starting to explode.”

–Camilo Smith

Photo: Diane Pernet