At Delpozo, The Future Is Female

Opposing forces came together at Josep Font’s fall outing for Delpozo. When Interview caught up with the Spanish designer backstage before yesterday’s show, he explained his influences for fall: “One was Metropolis, mixed with architecture of the Bauhaus; industrial architecture; and Daria Petrilli, an illustrator and artist. She is very romantic.” Outlandish color, finely crafted structure and volume, and unabashed femininity are Font’s MO, and the vibrancy of Petrilli’s work, matched with the rigid spirit of Fritz Lang’s 1927 film, a highly stylized vision of the future, produced an unlikely synergy. The third look summed it all up: a jazzed-up spin on a Tom Wolfe-ish suit, with cropped slim white trousers and a color-blocked jacket in blush and cobalt, with shawl-lapels and a stiff peplum, layered over a canary yellow button down. The jacket’s round hips were a nod to Lang’s metal cyborgs, but the overall effect was streamlined and sculptural, but with a healthy dose of whimsy.

Font grounded his looks with flatform oxfords, walking on a runway of pristine white carpeting against a plasticized set design, and while color came from Petrilli (“the purples and the yellows and the pinks,” Font said), the use of Lurex and holographic mesh harked back to Lang. Delpozo’s evening looks are always showstoppers (hopefully we’ll see some at the Oscars next weekend), and this collection was full of them: an already opera-ready oversized, bow-bedecked swingy speckled cape worn with sky blue elbow length gloves, silver foil trousers, and several frothy tulle frocks embellished with crystal work or romantic floral motifs.