New York Fashion Week :: Custo Barcelona [The ZOO]

Custo Barcelona :: Spring Summer 2006

Okay, let me just say this once: Finally, there was COLOR! After a sea of pale, blanched tones, we were finally presented with a bright, bold color palette. Leave it to Custo Dalmau to lead the way. With his signature bold stripes of contrasting colors and unique silk-screened prints, this collection was not for the faint hearted. It was bold and brash and young. The slinky dresses and tees in red, oranges, plum and green were a great relief to me after a week of predominately pale showcases by most of the designers. I love his slim silhouette and the slinky vibe of his clothing. Although I personally wouldn't be inclined to wear this look head to toe, I like a touch of this vibrancy to any outfit. Micro-minis with cropped jackets, wide, bold slashes of lime and yellow, red and orange in opposing stripes in cotton jersey both for dresses and tops were the focus for this collection. There were some interesting geometric body suits as well as some swimwear for resort that looked great. Hot pants and slim 50's inspired pants were also included in this showing, which played off well with his Brights. A few pieces seemed to stand out for the pack: The nod to the English naval look in a few of his jackets, as well and the Gaultier inspired Cone Bra (of the early 90's Madonna era) I wasn't convinced made this collection better but did add some variation to the theme of the collection. I think my favorite look of the whole lot was the baby doll dress with cropped sweater. It looked fresh and bright and perfect for spring. [Kelley Quan]