The Portuguese designer offers a vast range of subtle and elegant designs for Katty Xiomara spring/summer 2018, presented at Skylight Clarkson Square.
Katty Xiomara is understated and, perhaps deliberately, naive in her success. “We are thrilled to see our styles on several photo shoots from Japan.” Rather than a full spread on Instagram and a shouting tweet, Xiomara celebrates a major feature with this simple remark on her website. Since then, she’s racked up a number of awards for her unique approach to designing: styling collections as if they were clothes drawn from a child’s toy box. Despite the high-concept transparent clown (see “sleeping”) face masks, Katty Xiomara brought modern, faintly architectural elegance with her spring/summer 2018 collection, deemed a parachute trip. Dominated by pure reds, blacks, and whites, Katty offered streamlined chic: delightfully tailored items that felt suitably beach oriented its execution. Silk skirts flowed tastefully into a geometric corners, with a ticker tape of cursive text, a la some new Dolce and Gabbana and Dior.
Maybe thats it: Katty feels like a further refined approach to the haute posh of D&G: a little smarter and minimal. But also, Xiomara offers Reed Krakoff-esque grid cutouts, circular, polka-dot-made-tidy patterns, and even some Adidas-y sportswear with contrast piping and loose jackets. It was a show of uniquely Portuguese pizzazz: circus-tent stripes in tangerine and pink, high-waisted gingham in pink shorts, and then dipping into hues of blue, with the satin ruffle like a cozy bed. It never felt ornate- it felt dynamic and functional and languid and lazy-happy. It was the mix of netted and sheer fabrics that offered a modern pinache that, as a whole, tended toward collage rather than hodge-podge. Loose and free, the clothes could waft in the wind if they wanted to, never coming particularly close to the body, cool and easy rare prints dotted skirts and crept up dresses. Overall, an expansive and texturally compelling collection from this interesting and vibrant designer.
photo credit goes to Ugo Camera Photography