Custo Barcelona Spring 2017

For Dalmau Custo more is more; particularly with the Custo Barcelona’s spring 2017. But than again, more is always more with this brand.

Industry professionals have come to expect “the more is more” fashion dictum from Custo Barcelona. Season after season, Custo Barcelona has excited customers and industry professionals with collections that demonstrated design acuity, bold color and lots of fabric combinations. So, one wonders how far Dalmau Custo will go with “more is more” fashion inspiration this season.

That said, Dalmau Custo went a lot of places with his “more is more.” Sometimes he went in the right direction, other times the piling on of ideas needed to be rethought. And though one would think Custo’s “more is more” would work best in the brand’s women’s wear garments, the brand’s “way more” worker much better with the men’s wear looks.

Custo Barcelona’s “more is more” aesthetic is evidenced in more elaborate textures, more hand sewn items, more wealth of materials, more creativity, and looks that exuded more power. That said; there appeared to be a70’s nightlife aesthetic throughout the collection. This point of view worked best in the over-the-top pieces, but in the more subdued garments some of the fabric and color combinations were incongruent and overwhelming. Perhaps, “less is more” would’ve worked in for some of the garments.

What worked best in this collection were the separates that could have been mixed and matched with other pieces in the collection or items already in wardrobes. Placing emphasis on separates has been a very good projection for Custo Barcelona in recent seasons. Not every consumer is brave enough to wear many of the bold pieces in Custo Barcelona collections each season.

Images courtesy of vogue.com

Still, it is debatable if this “more is more” fashion dictum is  a step forward for the brand. Better luck next season!!

—William S. Gooch