Costello Tagliapietra Spring 2015

The Costello Tagliapietra boys were thinking a lot about the nuts and bolts of construction for Spring. Sure, they’re known for their thoughtful draping, but there was more here. “We were reevaluating—and falling in love with—the way we put together clothes,” said Robert Tagliapietra, who designs the collection with his partner, Jeffrey Costello, after the show. “We wanted to highlight each piece by delineating the lines.” Indeed, there was noticeable attention paid to every seam, particularly at the waist. An olive silk jumpsuit, for instance, was accented with navy leather, a gold jersey dress with tonal grosgrain ribbon. The pleats on the front of a cocktail dress were made to lie flat, creating the subtlest detail. And the backs of many of the dresses—including an ombré V-neck number and a navy-plaid wrap dress—were made with jersey in contrasting colors to achieve a second-skin fit.

Costello Tagliapietra’s color palette was moody and romantic, inspired by Patricia Arquette’s character in David Lynch’s Lost Highway. The hammered petrol-blue brocade silk was particularly Lynchian. Fashioned into a strong-shouldered skirt suit, it belonged on a film noir star. But seasonal musings aside, Costello and Tagliapietra’s work is always very much about the woman wearing it. All of that seaming and décolletage framing is not just for showing off technique: It’s meant to make her feel beautiful.