BACKSTAGE WITH CATALAN DESIGNER Custo Dalmau (Ángel Custodio Dalmau Salmón) at the CUSTO BARCELONA SHOW

TEXT & Backstage Images, VIVIAN G. KELLY
Runway Images, Europapress, courtesy of ASI Marketing

TIME & PLACE: BACKSTAGE, Sunday, September 13, 2009, 6:30p.m., the big TENT, Bryant Park


Prior to the show, we fully expected a mad scene, along the lines of what we’ve encountered at the Baby Phat Show. The mayhem that greeted us exceeded our expectations. We had been scheduled in for a 6:30p.m. interview, arrived at 6:25 and did not speak to Custo until 7:20. The team at ASI that was running the show were organized but the problem was that Custo has a PR team for each of the countries he sells to, making their job managing backstage much harder than it normally would be. It seemed as if every Spanish speaking TV crew in the Western hemisphere was on hand wanting a word with Custo, which made for a lot of bodies and mics circling around the compact Spaniard.
While waiting our turn, we learned that Custo loves music and designs to it. That may in part help explain his life-long love affair with color and texture. The palette on the racks was colorful – what else would it be? The color that popped was a gorgeous Caribbean Sea blue-green in everything from a Marabou evening coat to embroidered cut out dresses and coats decorated with everything from fringe, to ruffles to paillettes.
His “young in spirit” customer relishes the attention they’re bound to get when wearing Custo Collection designs.
We split our designated 5 minute interview time slot with longtime friend, Edward James, of www.fashionwatch.com

FE: You’ve already had to speak about the inspiration for the collection. We’d like to ask you something a bit different.
[Custo breaks into a smile.]

FE: How do you feel about the reception you receive in New York? Do you feel welcome here? New Yorkers wear a lot of black. Do you think New York “gets” your aesthetic?

CUSTO: [pointing to the black blazer he’s wearing]. It’s true, New York is not the place for color but America is an important part of our business, and New York is the place to show. We have presented here for 12 years now.

FE: You always stay at the W Hotel on Lexington Avenue. The Concierge there confirmed that you’re there every season with your team – all 30 something of you. What is it about this W that you like so much?

CUSTO: They’re very nice to us and [he lights-up] I only have to take the elevator down to the street and I have so many dining options: Chinese, Italian, delis, anything!

To learn more about the W Hotels, visit www.starwoodhotels.com