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Sculptural, Playful Delpozo

Delpozo's 'prêt-à-couture' tapped a newfound sense of youthfulness, but a tighter edit would have strengthened the show.
Delpozo Spring/Summer 2016 | Source: Indigital
By
  • Angelo Flaccavento

NEW YORK, United States — Delpozo is about occasion dressing and ladies who lunch, yet there is nothing of the stereotypical uptown socialite about the unique aesthetic lexicon developed by Josep Font for this revered Spanish maison. No little black dresses, no big jewels and bigger hair. Instead, baroque virtuosity elevated to the nth degree. The sculptural exuberance, elegant boldness and taste for embellishment are quintessentially Mediterranean, while the execution is strikingly assured. In fact, Delpozo produces what the house calls prêt-à-couture, not humble ready-to-wear.

The show, held on a Westside Manhattan pier transformed into a cozy, whitewashed atelier, reiterated Delpozo's codes with remarkable playfulness. Although intensely sculptural — at times even stiff — the multi-flap dresses, wrought-out skirts and intricate ball gowns exuded a newfound sense of youthfulness and the sugary colours and naïve decor had something truly charming about them.

Claiming inspiration from Gustav Klimt's fiancé Emilie Flöge — a radical couturier who proposed a fluid silhouette, doing away with corsets at a time when womenswear was all about constriction — Font introduced a series of vertical silhouettes that felt fresh, if not particularly flattering. A weak point, however, was the richness of themes and variations on offer: from outlandish to flou, it felt like everything Font dreamt up made it into the show. On the catwalk, sometimes, a firm edit helps deliver a stronger message.

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