Manuel Albarran dishes up fantasy looks for Michelin dinner in Macau

Spanish designer has dressed Angelina Jolie, Lady Gaga and Rihanna, and this recent collaboration was a departure into theatrical exploration of the senses in leather, metal and feathers

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Fantasy leather outfits by Spanish designer Manuel Albarran featured at a Michelin gala dinner at Macau’s Studio City.

Published: 1:04pm, 27 Nov 2016Updated: 8:47pm, 29 Nov 2016

Spanish designer Manuel Albarran has designed pieces for celebrities such as Lady Gaga and Rihanna, and recently embarked on a collaboration with Robert Parker Wine Advocate and Michelin for their debut gala dinner in Macau.

Along with six Michelin-starred chefs including Tam Kwok-fung (Jade Dragon at Macau’s City of Dreams) and Alvin Leung (Bo Innovation in Hong Kong), Albarran organised a five-part show that was part fantasy, part theatre. The spectacle was about exploring the senses.

“We had to tackle every sense, and use every medium to its full potential. We used a large video screen which played a film produced by my team in Spain. For sound, we had a soloist play the saxophone,” he says.

Alvin Leung finishes a dish for the Michelin gala dinner in Macau.

Looks ranged from ostentatious feather hats to futuristic metal bustiers, and elaborate metal armour. Unconventional materials and colours are a signature style in Albarran’s work.

Hollywood glamour at Macau’s Studio City.

“My work comes from another world. I’m not interested in creating commercial work,” he says. “When I left fashion school, I tried to go down the conventional route and produce safer work. But after 10 years, I wasn’t selling anything.