By Liana Satenstein, Staff Writer
For her 2010 collection, designer Sophia Kokosalaki displayed an approachable version of "wearable art" that proved to be appropriate for the current time of economic downturn.
Her contemporaries, such as Galliano and McQueen, have been blessed with an uncontrollable, overt genius that although allows them to reproduce the French Revolution or a parade of art installments on the runway, the practicality is lost with today's consumers.
In contrast, Kokosalaki designs her clothing according to a different formula and yet still has panache for finding malleability in geometric shapes and draping loose fabrics so they seem more fitted. There were many demure, mid thigh cocktail dresses with décolletage necklines that dipped conservatively. Corset vests buttoned at the bottom of the breastbone and helped to create the illusion of curves even if the model did not have any. The shoes were high, open-toed and thinly laced to the mid-calf. A couple of twists and tweaks of fabric on the neckline of some dresses, such as the drapery worked into an oval, stretching from the waist to around the neck or a curved piece of fabric that exaggerated the curve of the shoulder, that alluded to Kokosalaki's ability to control.
There are some designers that are gifted with a delirious type of genius that sometimes cause them to bluntly and brashly theme their collection. This can consequently distance the consumer. But Kokosalaki falls into a different tier of intellect that is subtly seamed and embedded and instead creates a bridge of understanding between designer and consumer.