Custo Barcelona New York Fashion Week 2020 (Photo: Lev Radin/Gildshire)
Iconic Spanish fashion house Custo Barcelona celebrated 40 years of trend-setting design at New York Fashion Week with its Autumn/Winter 2020/2021 collection. Titled “Thank you, next,” the collection celebrates the past with nary a nod while looking toward the future for inspiration. The result is a fresh new aesthetic, both young and timeless. As usual, Gildshire’s ace photo/chronicler Lev Radin was on the scene to record the hottest NYFW goings-on. This time that was the Custo Barcelona New York Fashion Week Show.
Custo Barcelona New York Fashion Week 2020 (Photo: Lev Radin/Gildshire)
A new era of athleisure
Autumn-Winter 20/21 is a Custo Barcelona collection meant to be donned 24/7. They manage that with technological fabrics that are both functional and comfortable. Inspiration from the sportswear world yield padded anoraks, oversized pockets, macro-zippers, self-closing buckles, and reflective profiles.
Technical fabrics within the collection allow the coexistence of strong sports appeal alongside night looks. Iridescent metal fabrics join the portion that works its playful magic on sequins, some with wet effects. That’s how cleverly Custo offers a tribute to the eighties, and even disco, all the while looking forward.
The Custo Barcelona aesthetic usually shouts “Prints!”, and this collection did, as well. A “Butterfly Wings” print stylizes the delicate and intricate profile of a butterfly wing, creating a wavy effect. The “Tokyo” print is more garish! That’s only appropriate as it was inspired by Japanese graphic novels. The prints palette ranges from vivid red to electric blue, with yellows and greens having their say, as well in iridescent and metallic hues.
Custo Barcelona New York Fashion Week 2020 (Photo: Lev Radin/Gildshire)
History of the 40-year-old brand
Custo Barcelona was born early in the 1980s by the now-famous Dalmau brothers, David and Custo. The birth of the brand took place after an around-the-world journey. While traveling, they discovered new landscapes and varied cultural and artistic and manifestations. As it has for travelers down through the ages, California caught the eyes of the Brothers Dalmau. They noticed the surfers in southern California and the psychedelia up north. The California tee was a different look than anything taking place in Spain at that time.
Last June, Custo Barcelona, and Velmar signed a licensing agreement covering the worldwide distribution of the men’s and women’s apparel, as well as leather goods, and the footwear and accessories collections. That meant that the international movement of the company was underway! The Dalmau brothers remain the creative heart of the company, leading a team of the hottest young designers.
What was the result of the youth movement within the design team?
It actually seemed to energize the brothers to go back to their creative roots.
“We are not fashion designers,” Custo Dalmau says. “We are creatives who make clothes.”
It is that deep passion for creating confident clothes that drive the Dalmaus to embrace what can be called glitzy sex appeal with a side of Barcelona. The Custo Barcelona New York Fashion Week show is a grand example of that.
That said, Gildshire can hardly wait for the next big thing from the house of Custo Barcelona. We hear that a pre-teen line is in the offing. Shine and sparkle even in the stroller? Why not, because we know by now that fashion begins with birth and ends with death.
