Alejandro Chal showed up and showed out at Paris Fashion Week Men’s, where he attended Casablanca and Berluti’s runway shows. The Peruvian singer-songwriter flaunted a few looks that only a select group of people can pull off, though no one else need take up the challenge.
Unsurprisingly, a man who once told Remezcla “Life is about being a vibration and traveling amongst things as its vibration,” added much needed good vibes to the sometimes predictable, basic array of drapes at the yearly gathering of fashionistas. Every ensemble made it clear that mommy was right when she said “no es la ropa, es la percha.”
Chal, whose family grew up on a ranch, defined his look as punk-rock in a 2019 interview with Hypebeast. He wore oversized wide-leg fluorescent pink pants one day, and a wide-brim bucket hat that’s fit for both day clubbing in Vegas or the safari the next. Balance.
The theme for Chal at FW19 seemed to be “papi,” drawing inspiration from every definition of the idiom. Exhibit A: He paired (what appears to be) Rick Owens’ black leather Bozo Beatles boots (cool dad boots) with an unbuttoned tropical-themed Casablanca silk button-down avec a gold chain (what comes up when you google ‘papi’).
“Right now we’re in human form” A.Chal says, “who knows what we’ll be next?”
That remains a mystery, but whatever tomorrow holds, an album from this independent artist will hopefully serenade us on the way there.
The “Love N Hennessy” singer released EXOTIGAZ in December 2018 and has been mostly silent on the track since, with the exception of a few collabs (e.g., “Me Traicionaste” with Rosalía and “Cross the Path” with Swiss Beatz, both of which were made for TV shows). In 2019, Chal alluded to his project-in-the-making and teased us at every corner. “As I’m working on my album, I have in mind records like Bob Marley’s Legend, Adele’s 25 Black Sabbath’s Paranoid, any Beatles album,” he told French media publication Yard.
We’re just trying to Vibe W/U, Chal.