If the minimalism of Francisco Costa's Spring show veered into sci-fi territory, Fall has come back to earth—and to the body. Whereas last season was all about soft, three-dimensional geometries, the focus now is on fabrics and texture. Costa opened with a black coat with an asymmetrical neckline and a crescent hem that was pieced together like a jigsaw puzzle from wool and silk jacquard. He worked that paneling motif into a sleeveless sheath with slightly built-up shoulders, a bold flap jacket, and even a clingy knit mock turtleneck worn with a trim and neat pencil skirt.
Continuing on, his experiments with surface treatments produced a skirtsuit from a holey felted wool that looked like lace and a gorgeous one-shoulder dress (in a season full of them) with plissé detail trailing across the bust. A laser-cut velvet dress in sulfur—when Costa deviates from black or charcoal, it's for something that really pops—proved once and for all that minimalism doesn't have to mean masculine. Which gets back to the point about the body. These were rigorous, defined, precise clothes, but they were also sexy. Nicely done.
