Designer Ennio Capasa was full of surprises on Thursday afternoon. His Costume National show took his brand in a pleasing new direction that reenergized the house with color, new proportions and tailored movement.
Backstage after the show, Capasa talked about the need to listen to your gut and not blindly following the guidelines that marketing and commercial teams suggest. « If the designer tries to just follow what they think a collection needs, we lose the sense of fashion, which is to be visionary, to inspire people, » said the designer, adding that « this really damages the industry’s creativity. Because if we go in this direction the new generation will be very flat ».
His collection was definitely not flat — far from it. He moved away from his stricter tailoring to give a layered movement to roomy silk pieces. A generous use of big buttons, dotting the outside of pant legs or left open all the way up the back of outerwear, was another astute way in which he added dynamism to his designs. Meanwhile, the inclusion of strong yet restful colors like forest green,midnight blue and burgundy was a welcome break from the designer’s signature black offerings.
In a collection filled with memorable pieces, it was the outerwear that finally stole the show. Great trench/perfecto hybrid coats were beautifully executed and the introduction of a bit of shimmer, via metallic dots on a wide lapeled coat or the use of Lurex in an emerald green long coat, was done with expert restraint.
With this collection Capasa proved that he still knows how to give his customers what they really want, even before they know it themselves.