SADAELS SS21: Eyes on the prize

SADAELS is a Belgian-Argentine women’s clothing brand that puts in tension the antagonistic cultural heritage of its creator Juan Hernandez Daels. The designer studied at the prestigious Royal Academy of Antwerp and Central Saint Martins, working for the Sheikha of Qatar before returning to Buenos Aires where he was recognized as one of the most prominent designers of his country by the press by reaching the cover of Vogue and dressing celebrities such as Rihanna, Juliana Awada, Sofia Sanchez of Betak or Queen Maxima of the Netherlands. Since 2017 the brand has been based in Paris as a French maison, working with the FHCM and DEFI, accepted in the official calendar. The SS21 collection called “Eyes on the prize” is based on the concept of the cockade awarded in equine competitions. The resource can be seen in hand embroideries, in finishing and morphologies, as well as in prints specially developed by the brand with the cockade as an ornamental motif. Another print developed this season is an animal print intervened with the hand of Antwerp in allusion to Argentina’s obsession with this pattern. The use of leathers is central to this collection. The leather was worked in unconventional ways: macrame braided into accessories or pieces that are found between clothing and leather goods. These accessories called “sadaels” (a play on words between Society Anonyme Daels and the concept of horse saddles) are based on a reflection on how female clothing lacks from construction the capacities to carry items comfortably and obliges dependance on external accessories or bags. In addition to leather, the materials used in the collection are bio, ethically sourced natural materials sourced in Italy. The color palette ranges from white, beige, pink, black, red, lilac and pistachio. Our ever present pixelated horse logo, alludes as an inspiration to the chakana (cross of the Andes that was inherited by the gauchos in its ornamental motifs of weaving and textiles) and holds a close resemblance to pixels, reflecting on this dual nature of the brand. The double antagonistic cultural heritage, both Belgian and Argentine, of the brand collide and define it, becoming its richness. This tension aims to deconstruct, rethink and give value to our roots. Highlighting Argentine traditions, materials and typical attire of the gaucho and Pampean culture in a whimsical and youthful spirit, not solemn or traditionalist, that comes from none other than the academy of Antwerp. Argentina is much more than a caricature of a gaucho and a horse, we have multiple layers of hybrid influences that go far back, from ancestral cultures to Italian and Spanish immigrant eclectic urban chaos that make our culture hard to grasp.

Photography: Milos Nasio Styling: Joaquin Diaz Art direction: Ignacio Buendia Models: Paulina Pistone, Francisco Villa Picasso, Santiago Fumiere Make up and hair: Yamo Zarlenga