(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-05-22 14:56

Model walks the runway at the Calvin Klein Resort 2009 collection show by designer Francisco Costa in New York on Monday, May 19, 2008.[Agencies]

Reptiles - and more specifically, pythons - were the inspiration that Francisco Costa cited for his Resort 2009 collection for Calvin Klein shown on May 19, 2008 at the Calvin Klein showroom in New York.

Calvin Klein (and Costa) fan Ashley Olsen attended the Monday morning show and scoped out a one-shoulder gown with tiny pleats and snakeskin print pattern to possibly wear to the upcoming CFDA awards on June 2, for which Costa is nominated in the "Designer of the Year" category. Like other resort collections this season - Christian Dior and Oscar de la Renta - the one-shoulder dress is shaping up to be a key trend for Resort eveningwear.

Costa proved once again with his intelligent take on this pre-spring season why he is one of the most formidable design talents working in the industry today. With nods to Fortuny and Issey Miyake, both known for their technical and innovative use of pleats, Costa made delicate pleating that was deliberately pressed, wrinkled and shaped in geometric patterns that replicated reptilian skin in a manner that was both precise and organic. It was math class-meets-biology.

In some instances, python prints on pleated silk georgette made the snakeskin reference quite literal, as with a python embossed trench in white. But Costa also interpreted the texture of snakeskin with impressive techniques like laser cut taffeta that looked like sharp scales and fractal-like three-dimensional pleating that draped around the body like a snake coiled around a tree.

Short bolero jackets with loose flaps, sharply pleated trousers with tapered legs, shingled sheath dresses resembling a forest of bamboo, asymmetrically folds and crinkled trench coats, kimono sleeves and sexy high-backed strappy stiletto sandals rounded out the collection.