Last season, Fashion Reverie joined the online cadre of fashion magazines in praise of Michael Costello’s spring 2015 collection. Costello’s signature look of mermaid gowns with illusions and cutouts was a surefire hit during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. The collection was sensually chic, fashion forward and innovative.
That said; what happened this time around, Costello? Though there were some strong looks that distilled Costello’s penchant for revealing, yet tasteful red-carpet eveningwear. Overall, this collection was a downgrade from Costello’s brilliant spring 2015 dissertation on red-carpet evening wear.
For inspiration Costello looked to Japanese samurai for his fall 2015 collection. Costello’s architecturally padded shoulders and top notches did conjure images of Japanese samurai; however, that is where the reference began and ended.
Where last season’s collection was sexy and very revealing, with Costello managing to keep the looks from being a parade of inappropriate, tasteless va va voom moments. Unfortunately, for fall 2015 Costello fell victim to too many skin reveals, slits that almost showed the royal jewels, and very wrong shoe wear that made the whole collection look clunky. And Costello’s choice of fabric was also out of step way below his excellent choices last season.
Costello’s black crop top with full black skirt was a pleasant addition, as well were some of more subdued black gowns. Still, surprisingly there were too many missed opportunities in this outing.
Perhaps, some of the celebrities in the audience were a clue to the customer that Costello is trying to court and maintain as a steady client base. (Hiphop superstar Chris Brown, his entourage, and Christina Milian were in the front row.)
Though Costello’s spring 2015 collection could have stood its ground on any major red carpet, from the Oscars to the Golden Globes to MTV Awards, this season the look were mostly appropriate for minor red carpet events that go mostly unnoticed.
Go back to what works, Michael Costello, you’ve got the chops; better luck next season.
—William S. Gooch
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