Custo Barcelona Fall 2015

We all know fringe is one of the biggest trends by far this season. Custo Barcelona's fall 2015 collection played around with what that meant. Instead of the wimpy, stringy fringe every other designer used in their collections, Custo Dalmau and his design team decided to beef it up a little.

Dalmau envisioned the wide heavy fabric strips that slap against your automobile during a car wash. (That brings to mind the musical number "Sugar Daddy" from Hedwig & the Angry Inch). That resulted in wide, embellished strips on the hems of those fabulous short dresses you see in the second photo. In person, those hems had great movement, perfect for dancing.

photos by David TW Leung

Of course, the signature look of Custo Barcelona is the rich mix of textures and patterns. Plaid was mixed with woolly tweed. Brightly colored woven patterns with a black ground echoed the textiles I often see in South America. Some of the prints I saw looked like inkblots from a Rorschach test. There were big furry collars for both and women.

Accessories were designed to coordinate with the clothing. rounded messenger bag type shapes and carry-all handbags were blocked with matching patterns and textures as the outfits. If your legs are cold in the fall/winter season, the brand is offering up a sort of legwarmer or shoe/boot extender in fabrics that match the clothing as well. It is an interesting item that doesn't quite fit into any specific accessory category.

Custo Barcelona's fall 2015 does loud and busy in a way that looks sophisticated and Euro-chic. Also, I bet you'll never look at a car wash the same way again.