Daniel Del Core is an inveterate traveler—the more challenging the faraway destination, the better. He’s also a semiprofessional diver, so he’s able to reach the impressive ocean depths where the light no longer penetrates the water, colors almost disappear, and you can look up close at the incredible marine creatures that can usually only be seen on the Discovery Channel. No wonder his fashion is inspired by such experiences—lived firsthand, not just as floating images on a screen.
The spring collection was activated by Del Core’s latest marine adventures, “but I wanted just to hint at that, not be too literal,” he said at a preview. He toned down his grand couture gestures a notch and kept the silhouette sleeker and liquid, giving it what he called “an urban undertone.” Fluidity was interspersed with more structured accents, as in a series of languid, body-skimming satin slip dresses or harnessed and corseted chiffon numbers. These contrasted with broad-shoulder, nipped-waist, wide-flare pantsuits in rich brocade, exuding a powerful entrance-making vibe, or with cloudlike hand-pleated sculptural couture tops worn with high-waist, slim-leg trousers.
Del Core believes that couture, while keeping its mystique of uniqueness, has to be “lived in” and more easily integrated into an urban lifestyle—that is, into the lifestyle of women who can afford such stellar-priced pieces. His first store—due to open in London in November, where he plans to offer both RTW and couture options—will put to the test his assumption that they can happily share space in the same closet. For now, while doing a good job at smoothing the edges of his visionary grandeur, he didn’t let go of it just yet. The closing looks of today’s show were four fabulous, red-carpet showstoppers—no-holds-barred couture creations.
