Not in vain is it called “the golden hour.” When the sun begins to go down, the air cools and the day enters that intermediate strip, it is marked the social pulse of the summer in Punta del Este. This season, the sunset established itself as the great event, with meetings that start early and often go on for a long time.
This change in “mood” is reflected in the looks: light garments but with just enough warmth, complementary colors, subtle layers and details that allow you to transition into the evening. He “sunset chic” is neither informal nor nocturnalbut that right balance between relaxed and elegant that defines the East when the sun goes down.
Own codes
“The sunset is undoubtedly the new scene,” he points out. Lulu Biaus, clothing designer and stylist. He agrees that this hinge moment between day and night enables its own aesthetic register, with defined codes. “Although white always predominates, very complementary colors begin to appear at sunset, such as greens or light blues, which generate a lot of harmony, whether in accessories, dresses, tops or skirts,” he explains.
Biaus also detects another change compared to previous seasons. “The new thing I see is more individuality,” he points out. “Perhaps before Punta was characterized by more coordinated styles and typical things that are still seen, such as crochet, transparencies or the cowboy hat, but now the individual factor appears strongly. People seek to differentiate themselves with more vintage, unique garments or with some detail in the accessories, and that is good because it speaks more about each person’s style.”
For the stylist, more than a particular aesthetic of the destination, what prevails today is an intention: Punta del Este functions as the showcase of summer, with Argentine and Uruguayan brands setting the course and an audience willing to look, choose and show themselves.
For its part, the influencer specialized in fashion Camila Poggi (@bycamilapoggi) agrees that the sunset became an especially fertile time to play with the look. “I like to see that there are more and more colorful embroideries, large prints and more diverse textures,” he says. In that sense, he highlights the weight that certain brands are beginning to have that expand the summer imagination: “More proposals are being imposed, such as Anushka Elliott, with her boutique in José Ignacio, or Farm Rio, which inspires many summer looks and helps get out of the everyday.”
It also marks the prominence of accessoriessomething that attracts attention even in men. “Lots of scarves, necklaces, hats, belts, even small bags to add color and a little dimension to what would otherwise be a flatter, more boring look,” she describes.
Asked if there is a “Punta del Este style”, her answer is “yes, 100%”. And part of the charm of the destination is precisely in that own code that enables licenses unthinkable in other contexts. “There are large cities in the world that have their own style, and Punta del Este is absolutely part of them. Although there are people whose daily look is this -read: linens, crochet, knits, loose clothing-, there are many who choose to wear those clothes only while vacationing there,” he maintains.
Social ritual
And where is the big sunset call? This summer, art and culture were great meeting points. Exhibitions, inaugurations and special events brought together artists, collectors, international guests, fashion leaders and figures from the social world. Contemporary art fairs in the José Ignacio area, the summer programming of museums such as the Atchugarry and different cultural activations set the tone for those golden hours, with appointments designed to arrive during the day and stay until night falls.
Some of the recurring guests were Zaira Nara, Juana Viale, Amalia Amoedo, Alan Faena, Andrea Frigerio and Chloé Bello. And if it’s about elegance, the Italian sisters and socialites Patricia and Rosella Della Giovampaola They shone brighter than ever on those occasions.
In several of those matches, the weather played a central role when thinking about the costumes. “The looks for the artistic events were on days where the weather was quite bad, so the trend was to go with something comfortable and, above all, with ruanas or shawls from Manos del Uruguay“, says Patricia. In her case, dressing accompanies the rhythm of the day without rigidities or fixed formulas: “I dress how I want, I don’t follow guidelines. In the morning I’m in sneakers, shorts and a T-shirt; “If I have to go to a lunch, I wear a floral cotton dress, and after seven, as I usually continue with a meal or another cocktail, I get dressed for the evening,” she details. At that time, her bet is to be elegant to entertain the person who invited her, always in a long dress and lots of color.
Although the transition between dusk and night does not require big turns: “It can pass for a shawl, a scarf.” A simple and functional resource that well synthesizes the spirit of the eastern sunset chic.
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