@CostelloTaglia- “Expertly Executed”: The Bears Have It!
It is at this moment that I realize how limited but growing my knowledge of fashion truly is. I can safely admit this because prior to this fashion week, I had not really heard of the CFDA designers Jeffrey Costello and Robert Tagliapietra, the dynamic duo behind the women’s RTW label, Costello Tagliapietra. However, the ultimate point of my blog is to inform others of fashion gems that otherwise may be unknown to the average fashionista or aficionado. That being the case, I can only say that these two have seriously proven to me that indeed gay men make the best fashion designers. Two bears however, can defeat the odds and create a refreshing collection that begs to question whether designers such as Diane von Fürstenberg really are the voices in fashion for effortlessly feminine clothes. Thus, this show has taught me that the best fashion, always, comes from the single most unexpected sources.
Echoing a ’40s flair, this collection spoke to my interest in drapery. The silhouettes seemed as if they had simply wrapped themselves onto the models’ bodies by the grace of the fashion gods, pure magic, and/or whimsy. Rustic, almost masculine colors (neutrals, aquas, royal blues, and a lovely burnt hue of orange) and uniquely distinct ditsy floral prints made their way down the runway. While florals for spring/summer are a cliché and unoriginal (cue Miranda Priestley), these prints recreate the likeness of a Georgia O’Keeffe word- urban, unusual, unexpected, and painterly in effect. Waist ties, cowls, sarongs, twists, and soft drapes in jersey and satin conceived clean lines and elegance.
The ultimate result: clothes that real women can wear. Any woman, with real curves, would be unrestricted in any of these outfits; the fabrics would flatter and caress the female form in its entirety. And while no one can deny that there was plenty a dandy (most notably Patrick McDonald and Andrew Mukamal, whose wardrobes any man would envy), bear (SO MANY BEARDS), and diva in the crowd, this collection spoke nothing to the lumber jacks that Costello and Tagliapietra can appear to be (aren’t they the cutest though?). I just heard two words: Wearable Romanticism.
