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B Michael. OTHER PHOTOGRAPHS: Dres.
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Gustavo Arango
BORN IN COLOMBIA and raised in Puerto
Rico, Gustavo Arango’s designs are a graceful amalgamation of tempestuous
Latin fire and New York chic sophistication, as evidenced by the
spring 2004 collection he presented at Bryant Park last September.
A graduate of Manhattan’s FIT, he
stayed on to live in New York, finding employment as a fashion designer
for Pierre Balmain and designing suits at Bill Blass Inc. A collateral
victim of the WTC bombings on September
11 (after his apartment was destroyed), he moved back to Puerto
Rico to recharge his battery and reassess his plans for the future.
During his respite in Puerto Rico, Mr Arango became inspired by
the fashions of the two widely divergent areas in which he had spent
his formative years. His design style was thus changed into a unique
combination of the exotic beauty of Puerto Rico and the sleek, modern
femininity of New York City.
The Latin side of Gustavo Arango is reflected
in the panoramic spectrum of colours he utilizes in his collection,
in which the black is absent but in which the various shades of
blue natural melon, yellow, green, copper, gold, cream and tropical
prints played a major role. There was a natural, sensual flow to
his dresses, much like the gentle sway of the trees on the beach.
With their 1970s Farrah Fawcett wind-swept hairdos (by Junior Melendez
for Redken Fifth Avenue, New York), the models, for the most part,
looked fantastic in his designs. His most successful pieces here
included his glow hand painted silk chiffon draped long side-wrap
dress, his satin silk draped back short chemise (with an asymmetrical
hem), his one-shoulder silk chiffon dress with Swarovski crystals,
his laser cut silk crêpe wrap dress with gathered back detailing,
and his hand-painted silk charmeuse gathered asymmetrical dress.
These pieces and the others in the collection can do double-duty
as resort wear when you are on vacation on the Mexican Riviera or
aptly set you apart from the crowd at a ritzy social event at Lincoln
Center. Again, for most part, he avoided as much as he can, not
going over the top or straying too far from his initial vision.
His “New York” pieces were quite a different story.
Here, the sophistication level was raised a notch or two, and he
concentrated on more subdued colours. Right off the top, his alabaster
silk chiffon column dress with patent leather appliqués comes
to mind. Other examples include his Heliotrope “ladies who lunch”
silk chiffon short dress, his midnight silk satin cropped jacket
with graphic seams (paired with a midnight silk satin wide leg pant),
a silk satin gathered sheath, and his chatre (green) ombre silk–chiffon
draped and gathered long dress. What didn’t work at all was his
tunic dress with gathered sleeves and bronze déco hand-made
buckle. It was simply too much.
Stylist Victor Vargas seamlessly incorporated
various pieces of jewellery from Alan Friedman, Faramone Mennella,
Laura Gibson, Lazare Kaplan, Mikimoto, Stephen Webster and William
Levine (for Reinhold Jewelers, San Juan, Puerto Rico). Standout
pieces here were the gorgeous necklaces and beautiful rings and
bracelets that adorned the models’ necks, ears and arms.
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