New York Fashion Week Spring 2007: Rushkin by Victor de Souza

Victor de Souza only sent 18 pieces down the runway—this could have felt incomplete, but his statement was strong, and he got to the point quickly rather than exhausting the audience with redundancy. de Souza’s designs was an austere interpretation of Balenciaga volume—restricting the color scheme to cream, black and white, and taking the puffed shaping down a notch. The result was a collection that is very wearable (a crème silk charmeuse corset pleat top with silk organza detail and navy raw silk short with core piping could be worn unselfconsciously) while still preserving the Balenciaga aesthetic that is so pervasive in fashion right now, one of the few respites for those who are resistant to the minimalism that has become a fixture on the runways for the last several seasons.

de Souza made extensive use of tulip shapes; his application was varied and inventive: sleeves, bustiers, cuffs, dresses and even tulip pleat shoulders. He relied on grosgrain for the detail, which gave balance to luminescent white silk and the voluminous shaping, especially for the closing piece, a double layered bias-cut white silk organza and silk charmeuse tulip dress with grosgrain belt.

While many designers will interpret Balenciaga, few will be able to accomplish doing so with the restraint and execution of Victor de Souza.

ALI MANNING

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