There is something so physically extravagant about the boys that Italo Zucchelli has hybridized for Calvin Klein Collection that they might be a tribe of giants. It's an irony that is never lost on him as he designs uniforms for his perfect specimens—they are, after all, just kids. Sometimes it's that youthful vulnerability he emphasizes; other times, it's physical strength. Today offered a combination. Zucchelli's collection was partially a hymn to skin, celebrated in a buff monochrome palette, defined by layers of tank tops and shorts. His use of underwear as outerwear offered an irresistible metaphor. The designer wanted transparency, literally and figuratively: baring the body, baring the soul. "Transparency is very important to move ahead with straightforwardness and simplicity," he said. Did he design this collection with Edward Snowden looking over his shoulder?
Hyper-athleticism is a Zucchelli staple, but here he took it to a sophisticated new level, combining, say, a double-breasted jacket with layers of poplin and mesh boxers, and cutting a tank top from richly glossy eelskin. The bonded wools of his evening looks suggested that even they could be high-performance if called upon. Zucchelli usually favors head-to-toe monochrome hues, which better underscore his models' fabulous forms. When he uses color, it has often been an eye-popping slap in the face to neutrality, like today, from the first hints of brights in the collars of nylon outerwear, to peekaboo PVC under a neutral jersey tank, to a sequence of PVC pullovers and blousons in flaring red, yellow, and orange. Sure, they elaborated on the see-through theme, but they were also like sci-fi carapaces, another glimpse of the curious future world that Zucchelli evokes so often in his shows. It makes you wonder what's going on in his head at the same time as you're reminded of how subtly, impressively consistent he is as a designer.
