Callaghan (Q4002)

Callaghan’s show was the first ever in New York for the 35-year-old fashion house, and also served as the Stateside debut for its unofficial designer, Nicolas Ghesquière, of Balenciaga fame.In his collection for Callaghan, Ghesquière wowed the audience with an innovative, brilliantly worked collection of gathered, tied, pleated and frayed silk dresses. The look was classical Greece by way of Princess Leia, with plenty of Bianca Jagger attitude thrown in for good measure. The references may have come from the past, but there was nothing retro about the collection.Ghesquière’s main talent lies in his obsession with details and the precision with which he cuts every garment, creating perfect proportions. Dresses shimmied on the body with every turn; uneven, frayed hems on skirts looked violently chic and absolutely of the moment. No less impressive were a few patchwork suede looks—distressed, tattered and regal.As if to underscore the hipper-than-thou nature of the clothes, Ghesquière not only turned to the season’s requisite thick leather belts, but also used thin straps of colorful paillette cords. They were the perfect complement to the beaded lightning bolts that adorned several looks, a tongue-in-cheek embellishment that looked surprisingly right in this context.