¿Sex is overexposed," Maria Cornejo said. "I want to express sensuality in a subtle way."
She actually approached her goal in two ways. The first was through what were, for her, surprisingly delicate, feminine touches: a grosgrain-ribbon cascade that rippled down the front of an evening gown, or a slip layered under a gauzy dress. The second, via androgyny—though in this case it was less about girls looking like boys than about how they look in their boyfriend s clothes, and the interesting proportion play that ensues.
Perhaps because Cornejo s at her best when she s creating strong new geometries and silhouettes, she seemed more comfortable with the second approach. Working partly with high-tech fabrics—one a taffeta, the other a metal material that takes the shape of the wearer s body—she crafted cocoons, straight-arrow shifts, and pantsuits. Standouts included an astrakhan "cuddle" coat with a satisfying heft; a softly sacked back; and big, buttery leather caplets with zippers that ran from the cuff to the shoulder. Another was a draped tartan dress to wear with riding boots on a drive upstate to Dia:Beacon. An art gallery is exactly the sort of place you d want to wear one of these artful experiments in shape.
