Arts Alive San Antonio

By JASMINA WELLINGHOFF, Editor

She grew up with flamenco-artists parents, studied and performed flamenco dance herself, and designed flamenco costumes. Now, San Antonio designer Lisa Perello, would like to dress all her customers in flamenco-inspired fashions. She will be showing her new creations Thursday at the Farbrictopia Warehouse, which is next door to her shop/studio on W. Laurel St., downtown. The event is part of the WeFlamenco Festival which has returned to live, in-person events this year after going mostly virtual in 2020.

“Right now, I am still trying to find a few more models for the show, and I am setting everything up,” said the busy couturiere just three days before the event. “We didn’t realize that the Gypsy Kings are going to perform on Thursday, too, so I don’t know if that will prevent anyone from coming to my show, but if you would love to see beautiful clothes, come here.”

She plans to show 30-plus outfits, “representative of my past, present and future.” On the runway will be some of her favorites from the pre-COVID show, evening wear she worked on “during COVID,” and some new things for women who would like to have “flamenco-feel” everyday clothing. One thing that she uniquely specializes in is creating both daytime and evening attires that complement each other visually but are obviously different as well. As an example, she pointed to two such outfits, one named Emilia Victoria, and the other just Emilia. The latter consists of a mini skirt and blouse, while the evening wear, Emilia Victoria, is a long, ruffled dress, clearly similar to dance costumes. The two outfits share colors and materials. She even makes clothes that dancers can wear under their costumes. When they are finished performing, they can quickly be ready for what comes next by removing the top clothing. And there are selections for both the young and the not-quite-so-young who want to continue looking sexy and fabulous.

“During Fiesta, people wear all the Mexican-inspired stuff, why not also show Spanish flare with Flamenco-inspired clothes?” She asks rhetorically. “This city was founded by the Canary Islanders from Spain.” Given the beauty and versatility of her creations, that may indeed become the new Fiesta fashion. Of course, she still creates actual costumes for flamenco dancers for the WeFlamenco festival and other occasions. And most of the models in her fashion show will be dancers who “know how to move in them.”

Though not always highly visible, San Antonio does have a flamenco community and a number of outstanding performers affiliated formally or informally with certain studios and production companies.   The flamenco festival was created by Joel Settles twelve years ago and is now curated by Paula Sullivan, the owner of the Carmens De La Calle Café. Instead of a big one-night presentation, the 2021 fest takes place in smaller venues all over town. (For more on WeFlamenco, see our article from Nov. 2)  

An experienced designer, Perello exhibited her designs at the McNay Art Museum in 2013 and received the Tobin Award for Original Costume Design through the San Antonio Artist Foundation in 2011.

According to a vignette on the Perello website, her mother, a dancer known as Sylviana, challenged her to reverse-engineer the traditional long-train costume called Bata de Cola, not an easy feat. Perello was only 21, but she completed the task successfully. She has liked costumes, fabric and clothes, since her teen dancing days with Fiesta Noche del Rio, she said. “I always liked to be backstage with the costumes,” she noted.

The Thursday show, will be divided in four sections, each named after a flamenco dance: Guajira, Tangos, Paso Doble and Rumba. The dresses will reflect the spirit of the dances, explained the designer. Rumba, for instance, will feature miniskirts and “flirty costumes,” while Guajira will showcase wedding dresses, prom dresses and elaborate evening wear. In the Paso Doble section, Perello will show her “vintage styles” from the 1960s and 70s, reminiscent of the Fiesta Noche del Rio shows at the Arneson River theater.

But if you don’t see what you want on the runway, the designer will create an outfit that fits your style and personality, as she has done for a number of San Antonio women, dancers and not dancers.

“We are right next door to Fabrictopia, so you can buy the fabric there and come right into our shop to have a dress made,” quipped Perello.
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Flamenco Runway Perello 2.1 La Moda Sigue, 910 W. Laurel St., 78201; Nov. 11 at 7:30 p.m.; www.lisaperello.com