Barbara Casasola looked homeward to her native Brazil this season, seizing on the work of artist Lygia Pape, as well as Oscar Niemeyer s architecture in Brasília, for inspiration. More generally, too, Casasola was summoning a certain Brazilian kind of beachside chic, riffing on swimwear and aiming for a laid-back attitude. The ease of this collection marked a real growth for Casasola, whose clothes can sometimes feel rigorous; this time out, she interpreted her favorite stovepipe dress silhouette in a relaxed way, emphasizing stretchy fabrics and seamless patterning. The best of these came in sunset colors and looked a bit like dress-length maillots. Casasola also did well with her tailoring, in particular the double-breasted jackets slashed in the back and nonchalantly wrap-belted. But the real highlight here were the metallic pieces, an homage to Pape s luminous thread installations. The material Casasola used was lightweight but densely ribbed, and so-cool tank dresses in olive and silver fit like a second skin. To close the show, the designer sent out metallic singlets worn with matching floor-length plissé skirts—a proposition for evening that looked really fresh. Nice work.
