Costume National

PARIS, October 4, 2005
By Nicole Phelps
Ennio Capasa cited the heroines of Michelangelo Antonioni's movies as influences for spring. But on the evidence of the clothes, he was thinking more early sixties La Notte than mid-decade Blow-up. The one exception was a navy Empire-line minidress, its neckline and straps trimmed in royal-blue crystals, which seemed tossed in at the last minute as a nod to fashion's new direction.

Capasa was at his best when he focused on the waist, cinching it with wide raffia belts or showcasing it with a strictly corseted jacket. Slick tailoring is his strong suit; superfluous details like a row of buttons across the shoulder blades of a suede trench distracted from his collection's impact. And though embellishments like a jeweled shoulder clip or a bodice of swirling rhinestones gave his evening looks a luxe touch, the gowns would have looked just as sexy—and more modern—without them.

After a quiet beginning, the show finished with jarring colors like chartreuse, candy apple red, and kelly green that didn't jibe with the otherwise-subtle pleated and ruched cocktail dresses. Like Antonioni's films, the graphic designs that Capasa is known for are plenty powerful in black and white.

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