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Calvin Klein’s Solemn Architecture

Architecture seemed the key theme that ran through the latest women’s ready-to-wear collection from Calvin Klein on Thursday, Sept. 17, where the globular forms, biological shapes and technical finishes recalled modernist building styles.

The house’s women’s designer Francisco Costa has always been obsessed with volume and form, and his signature materials are frequently pretty high-tech, but the way fabric jutted, twisted and curled around the body in this collection were highly reminiscent of new hotels and corporate headquarters by architects like Zaha Hadid and Frank Gehry. Indeed, the pale grays and soft whites used in the show were uncannily similar to the IAC headquarters on the Hudson River, designed by Gehry.

But what matters more than their inspiration is the clothes quality and style, and this collection had lots of ingenious ideas – like their striking silhouettes, where shoulders blossomed, jackets flared and hemlines drooped. They had an striking sense of the new, without being too bizarrely novel, and you just knew that any of the front-row stars – Eva Mendes, Thandie Newton, Molly Sims and Kerry Washington all attended – would happily walk out of the show space in most of the looks on the runway.

In terms of materials, this was one of the most innovative shows in New York this season, boasting stunning mixes of crinkled silk, metal mohair and lots of needle punched organza. Yet, while the fabrics looked stiff, they never appeared uncomfortable.

Costa also introduced some great new Geisha-like shoes, where sandals straps sat above long block soles. These worked particularly well with some beautiful washed silk A-line dresses in soft hues of citron or coral.

Backed up by a hyper minimalist soundtrack, at times as simple as a heart beat or the hiss and crackle of an amplifier being turned up, there was something rather solemn about this show, and indeed the clothes. Though fashion is frequently regarded as a frothy and funny industry, this show felt like serious business.

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