At Calvin Klein, Francisco Costa offered a manifesto of a different sort: a smart, cool treatise on architectural minimalism. The collection he showed on Thursday was light years away from last season’s miscalculation, a fresh, sexy show worthy of the house moniker.

Costa’s clothes displayed no evidence of soundbite-worthy inspiration, although he said that the curvy dresses owed a debt to Elizabeth Taylor in “Butterfield 8.” Perhaps so, but without a smidgen of retro. Rather, he worked from a sharp modernist ethos that focused firmly on cut and fabric — both of which were shown off to maximum effect in an austere, almost all-gray palette.

Costa examined, and often contrasted, two proportions. His loose, structural outerwear bore interesting elements of construction, for example, a sturdy wool coat with a notch collar that became a deep vertical fold in back, or the raglan-sleeved wool and silk jacket over a drawstring hem skirt. Conversely, his skirts and dresses, some of which fell from padded shoulders for a controlled Space Age effect, were superskinny, so much so that one or two were tough for the models to negotiate in their mile-high sexpot shoes. More often, however, the girls looked like power babes of the most confident sort — sleek and ever in control.

Costa softened the mood just barely with a pair of gray lace dresses and with knitwear that riffed on Aran classics, the cables now reengineered for a dose of attitude — just the kind of attitude that chic minimalism requires.


To view Calvin Klein's full collection click here.