Michael Costello Spring 2015

For spring 2015 Michael Costello looked to the goddess inside every woman. This goddess, supernatural spirit inhabits forests, fields, caves, lakes and the sea. She is alluring to men and attracts to the attention of gods and demigods. Aloof and magical, this woman marches to her own beat, always in control of her amorous interludes, inspired by earth elements and the inner workings of otherworldly manifestations.

In this spring 2015 collection, Costello relies heavily on mermaid silhouettes, as well as other silhouettes that show off a woman’s curves. Costello hit many of the right notes a collection that was majestic, elegant and editorial. Still those right notes all came together cohesively as one note, focusing sometimes too much on the mermaid silhouette. When Costello veered away from the sculptural mermaid silhouette, the collection began to have more depth, nuance, and whimsy.

Costello stayed on trend with lots of illusions, sheer fabrics and skin exposure. Though the reveals were for the most part tastefully done, it is hard to imagine women outside the realm of models, actresses, and pop stars having the gumption to expose their “goodies” to the masses.

What Costello did manage to do in this outing is beautifully express his aesthetic through sheer florals, beading, metallic fabrics and colorations that adequately referenced earth elements and his goddess motif. The craft demonstrated in this spring collection solidly places Michael Costello among that new breed of designers that is pushing the genre into new directions, harnessing all the tools of textile innovation, construction and a fashion-forward point of view to create garments that are now and next.

—William S. Gooch

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