Custo Barcelona offers hairy, adventurous celebration of textures, patterns

Custo Barcelona offers adventurous ‘hairy metal’

NEW YORK — Custo Barcelona has gone hairy.

The loud, colorful Spanish label showed a collection Sunday inspired by “hairy metal.” It was a mishmash of shaggy fur and patterns delivered in extremes: ultra-short minis, leather hotpants, extra-shaggy fur and cropped jackets with knuckle-grazing sleeves.

The brand, which landed in the fashion world with its graphic T-shirt interpretations of California surfer-wear, has wandered far from its roots. Save for the brightly patterned leggings, everything else for this autumn was mired in just how many ways shaggy fur can be woven into an outfit.

The result was a line that seemed to reference the movie “Where the Wild Things Are,” but only if Max had dreamed in swirls and metallics.

If Custo were ever difficult for the average person to wear, the fall 2010 collection could be a challenge for even the most adventurous. Designer Custo Dalmau sent down the runway fuschia and teal mini dresses adorned with a basket-weaved sparkly strips, psychedelic prints and waves of shaggy fur that wormed across the body. A jacket with roots in the parka came out half fur coat on top. For men, he offered look-at-me variations on the two-piece suit in graphic prints, jacquard and shiny white pleather.

And for the man who’s looking for a fur jacket: There’s a gray shaggy offering with your name on it.