story by Charles Beckwith
photos by Adrianna Favero
Consummate perfectionist Victor de Souza (one of modaCYCLE’s 10 Designers To Watch in 2011) was still sewing things onto garments as the girls got dressed backstage at his Fall 2011 show, but what came down the runway was finished and refined. His tailoring skill, particularly with wool and silks, was more highly evident than in any previous collection. Asked what he set out to accomplish between last season and this one, Sr. de Souza said, “well, I always wanted to do tailored, really well tailored clothes, and that’s what I added. We worked really hard at it. We have the perfect jacket, the perfect fit, the perfect everything, and I was all about that. And mixing things that I feel is really personal that I’ve been involved a lot with, the ruffles and the lily tails, and the couture elements.”
The trademark long gloves and strange eyes were present, but it was slightly more toward stylish than spectacle as compared to previous seasons. More impactful was his judicious use of sharp pops of vibrant color that brought striking life to what would otherwise be rather muted looks. There was a Romantic undertone added to the previously apparent Gothic influences, which the designer confirmed to us backstage after the show when asked about the ruffles and high back detailing. “That’s something that happened at the end. The 18th century details I started getting into the collection, like bows and shirts, and I don’t know where they came from, they were the last influence on the whole ballet thing, you know.”
Overall a really beautiful well-assembled collection, and the page was turned on a very interesting developing fashion story from the mind of Victor de Souza.
