The first word that comes to mind when I think of Michael Costello’s 2018 collection is dreamy.
Often when we think about dreams, propositions of impossible, unrealistic, and even delusional come to mind. Costello, however, was able to meet dreams come true at the Robert Miller Gallery this season at New York Fashion Week.
Innovations are mistakenly assumed to stem from the most impossible of dreams, but dreams don’t come from a blank slate. They are born of our very own potential. Dreams start with a foundation, they begin with a structure in place. New York Fashion Week is notorious for outlandish ensembles and pushing the envelope, which is a good thing because it’s how trends, innovations, and progressions are established. Now more than ever, I see people (in terms of fashion and beyond) begin each new dream from scratch.
There were a lot of similarities between the collection this year and last, which is OKAY. I adored it. Michale Costello knows what works for his brand and every year, he does more and more of it. Instead of re-building creativity from the ground up every season, each collection is an extension of his most loved styles from the season before. Using that as a backbone, he has foundation already built to put more time and energy into taking the collections from pleasing to exquisite.
With this approach, Costello’s enchanting magic happens in the details to elicit a “love at first site” instinct when one lays eyes on his gowns. It’s a familiar structure that you’ve seen before – think the feel of Aurora in sleeping beauty singing, “I know you, I walked with you once upon a dream” – paired with alluring details that wrap your mind, body and spirit into a fairytale.
The moral of the story is, dreams (and dreamy dresses) are constructed by doing more of what works. From meticulously handed beaded fabrics to dainty floral accents and billowing asymmetrical drapes, let’s get into some of those charming details now, shall we?