Two brothers from Spain, Custo and David Dalmau created Custo Barcelona in the early 1980s. While traveling around the world and eventually finding their way to California they were inspired by the landscape and with the surf style. The Dalmau brothers were fascinated by the colorful, psychedelic prints and contrasting styles between Northern and Southern California surfers. The trip was the beginning of their fashion journey and they launched the “Custo Line” that was inspired by the California lifestyle. Today Custo still delivers their bold prints, bright colors and silk-screened pieces for women and men. With New York Fashion Week coming up quickly everyone is anxious to see the new collections. Let’s take a sneak peak at the Custo Barcelona sketches from the Spring-Summer 2011 ready-to-wear collection:

CUSTO SUMMER FESTIVAL is the most appropriate name for the new proposals in the spring-summer collection 2011 from Custo. Positive energy, freshness and free-spiritedness pervades both the daywear collection, Custo Everyday, and the eveningwear collection, Custo Let’s Party.

CUSTO EVERYDAY includes comfortable easywear, with lots of personality and colours, to create whole looks loaded with Custo DNA. Denim is the star of this collection, to wear with slouchy, baggy boho silhouettes. Without forgetting the brightest and most typically Custo colours, the palette this season includes pale, dusty and nude shades and military colour ranges, combined with embroidery, appliqué and patchwork. Innovation in the fabric department with linen, jersey for a cool, natural country look: tricot waistcoats, sweaters and scarves with very open weave to look like holes and macro crochet; dresses and loose shirts in guipure and pieces in viscose. The graphics take two forms: arty geometry and colourful, more figurative microprints.

CUSTO LET’S PARTY features sexy looks, shoulder pads, generous necklines, knee-length pieces, and asymmetrical, slightly oversized pieces. Dark colours are the stars of the eveningwear collection, mixed with metallic shades: gold, bronze, copper, mercury and rusts, combined with electric and vibrant tones. The silks are sand washed or overdyed to give a vintage effect, less sophisticated than those in the Lowxury collection. Graphic colourful velour mixed with eco leather or paillettes along with multicoloured digital prints and pixel effects flood the garments in the eveningwear collection.

LOWXURY (LOW + LUXURY) is a collection for evening and special occasions at competitive prices in flattering, sensual shapes that skim over the body. Of particular note are the colourful mini-dresses and the tops with fringes and lots of movement, worn with skirts and shorts. Jackets and waistcoats complete an outfit that’s perfect for every occasion. The brightest colours in the Custo palette are mixed with earth tones, khaki, sand and black and with bright appliqués in passementerie and guipure lace. Fuchsia, jade, aquamarine and mauve sparkles enhance these original creations. And the fabrics? These are fluid chiffons and silk satin with wild, natural-coloured prints. An ode to perforations that allow a glimpse of other prints and materials, even naked skin.

It looks like we’ll be seeing a lot of interesting print combinations in this collection. Personally I am a fan of Custo jackets and I think their use of multiple patterns is as beautiful and spirited as pop art. I’m looking forward to seeing what they will show at New York Fashion Week. What are your thoughts on this upcoming collection?