The boys from Brooklyn are playing in the big leagues.
Showing for the first time in the Bryant Park tents, Jeffrey Costello and Robert Tagliapietra did ingenious variations on their favorite medium, jersey. Everything was a bit off, but in a good way. How did they do it? By, in their words, ¿controlling the pleating and cowling in one area.¿ And so a dress had a ¿cowl¿ drape over just one hip, and skirts were likewise skewed asymmetrically. (They even somehow managed to do a collar that appeared upside-down, i.e., pointing up, without it looking weird.) Mixed in among the more sober dresses in gray, brick, and ink were a few slinkier numbers, like a long black two-piece for the Halstonette of 2007.
The duo also did pants, skirts, and jackets (one that belled out boldly over the hips) in luxe tapestry material and other French weaves. A red one¿shouldered dress with a streamer ¿tie¿ wrapped around the neck and the bodice was especially smart. Less successful were the experiments with crystal embellishment.
By the end of the show, the boys had proved they can pitch a few curveballs, and that they deserve their spot in the rotation.
