What a swell party it was, and we don’t mean Calvin Klein’s 40th anniversary bash. On Thursday afternoon, Francisco Costa gave the house a giant reason to celebrate the here and now, staging a show that infused futuristic edge (literally and figuratively) with unlikely serenity. It positively dazzled.
The collection was minimal in mood only, as Costa flexed some whole new muscle sets: one, a skill set, as with lesser execution his complicated architectural cuts could have flopped big time; the other, a mind-set, that of a supremely gutsy designer. The exquisite calm started with the palette, a single bright blue sighting the lone savvy shock within a lineup of whites, silvers and icy pastels. Costa opened with a dress in stiffish white silk and wool, shoulders and hips rounded amply. He continued on with structured fabrics, working the shapes either with grand curves or crisp origami angles, sometimes adding the shine of brushed-on latex or laminated sequins. The look softened with a silk jersey dress and a techno nylon coat, one looking like a latter-day flapper, the other, a Space Age Pierrot.
Throughout, decoration came primarily via the cuts and some well-laced nickel hardware. But in one spectacular interlude, Costa worked in various silver metallics and an intriguingly crafted see-through plastic coat for clothes that sparkled through their own austerity. Future chic? Bring it on.
