Mindelo — The creation
Mindelo is the cultural capital of Cape Verde — a city of music, colors, and mixed heritage, located on the island of São Vicente.
It's where the morna was invented, that melancholic and gentle music akin to Portuguese saudade but with something extra — a tropical warmth, a rhythm from Africa, a way of carrying nostalgia lightly.
In Mindelo, houses are painted pink, yellow, blue — and women dress with the same vibrant generosity of color.
Mindelo was born from that city.
The construction unfolds in two distinct and complementary registers.
The upper yoke in a very openwork large mesh oval lace stitch lends lightness to the piece — transparent, airy, structured.
The slightly flared round neckline with a scalloped edge and the integrated short cap sleeves in identical oval lace frame the silhouette with absolute coherence.
Then the body gains its density and color.
The large mesh fan/shell stitch in soft pink/lilac spreads its fans downwards with a picot at the top — each fan opens in this soft and luminous shade, creating a semi-transparent and very structured texture.
This soft pink that isn't quite pink, not quite mauve — the exact color of Mindelo's sky at dawn.
The scalloped shell stitch bottom border finishes the piece with coherence.
The straight, slightly fitted cut, above-the-knee length, suggests that this dress can be worn both in the city and at the beach.
Entirely hand-crocheted in my French workshop.
Exclusive Cachalabibi creation — Unique piece, only one in the world.