Colovos is a new collection from husband-and-wife design team Nicole and Michael Colovos, who spent eight years as creative directors at Helmut Lang and Habitual before that. Their new, self-funded venture, a year in the making, shares the minimal edge of their work at Lang, but not much else. As Michael put it, “Helmut was Helmut, this is us.”
Their interest is in something more elevated — prices are entry-level designer — with everything made in New York and Italy, and an aesthetic they define as discreetly utilitarian with a focus on statement daywear. “We wanted to find the balance between simplicity and point of view,” Michael said.
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They did so with clean, functional forms finished with beautiful detail — matte-coated buckles on an olive green leather biker jacket, Paul Klee-inspired guardian angel prints, tack stitching on high-brow denim — and sculpted silhouettes. These included a beautiful velvet bomber and dresses that worked the shapely side of schmatta — with an emphasis on the waist.
If the modernist heritage look the designers are proposing is not necessarily new, their version is far from generic. The colors — rich red, cobalt, navy, olive and cream — and cuts position the collection as an arty, alternative to classic.