WAR.WORN.FASHION

As soon as I see anything @CostelloTaglia, I can never believe that Jeffrey and Robert are behind the brand. It’s brilliant because I truly expect the unexpected with them – and they always deliver (that’s the best part, no?).

Perhaps because of their recent nuptials (congrats you guys!), the designers were in quite a romantic mood. So romantic that their fall/winter 2012 collection resembled resort wear! Or maybe they drew inspiration from the recent bipolar weather we’ve been having where quite frankly, spring sprung and never left us. It’s the only explanation for the slew of dresses that came down the runway today.

I’m not complaining. The absence of outerwear was rather hopeful of a winter without blistering blizzards and below-zero weather. Most importantly, the absence of outerwear reminds us of the designers’ true strengths: those chic daywear dresses, plunging evening gowns, and draped creations of beauty. There is no way that you can appreciate the intricacies of their draping with a coat over a dress. Like last season, I remain in awe with their skills in fabric manipulation; as one model appears, I just stare and try to figure out how the designers were even able to achieve the silhouette on the model. Abstract pleats along with darts, knots, wraps, gathers, and asymmetric details kept the collection modern and fresh.

The colour palette and printing brought the collection to a whole other level. Inspired by Beetlejuice (Tim Burton’s whimsy with zero horror though), AirDye (aka eco-friendly) floral and stripe prints were done at large in blurred, spherical, and textured appearance. Rusty poppy reds, mahogany browns, acid greens, salmons, cyans, periwinkles, seafoam greens, and oxbloods created for a luscious earthiness.

The end result: natural visions of beauty and infinite bearhugs.

@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.