Crispin & Basilio: A New Obsession
The first question posed by a member of the press to menswear designer Donny Barrios after his first fashion show in 2000 was: “When are you going to design womenswear?” Six years and several menswear collections later, Barrios is finally turning his attention to womenswear.
The former head menswear designer for Los Angeles–based Naqada, Barrios got the chance to pursue a new design direction when the company folded its menswear division in late 2005. His Crispin & Basilio—named after two children who, in a story the designer read as a youngster, drive their parents insane—is a labor of love.
“I like the idea of a project that drives you crazy during the day but in the end you just love,” Barrios said. “This is exactly what wanted to do.”
The better contemporary line debuts for Fall/Holiday 2006 with dresses, cashmere knits, pleated pants and shorts, outerwear, and woven tops. Barrios said the line was menswear-inspired only in the ease and tailoring of its pieces. “I wouldn’t say it’s girly, but I also wouldn’t say it is masculine. It has an eclectic mix-and-match, more dressed-up sensibility.”
Crispin & Basilio includes a silk jacquard skirt with a paper-bag waist and a bow belt, silk chiffon tops, tanks with silk insets, cropped suits, a glen-plaid capelet, a cropped blazer, a belted button-front dress, oversize cashmere sweaters, a cashmere Henley, wool shorts and a felted camel hair–wool trapeze jacket. Wholesale prices for the line range from $48 to $298.
“Everything has nice and light fabrications,” Barrios said. “I think we’re definitely coming into a few seasons of dresses and layering, and I wanted to put a sophisticated, urban California–influenced spin on it.”
The designer added a bit of his own laid-back style to the line. “I like ’two-for-ones,’ and I don’t change my outfit from day to night,” he said. A cashmere turtleneck sweater dress looks like a sheath layered over a thin turtleneck, and a brainy “secretary dress” appears to be a glen-plaid skirt paired with a silk sleeveless blouse.
The idea is to make dressing easy, he said, and to make each piece capable of being dressed up or down with accessories. “I’m very sportswear- and separates-oriented,” Barrios said. “My pieces aren’t distinctly for day or evening, but they can be easily accessorized.”
Now working on his Spring 2007, Barrios said his new collection would be deeper but have the same easy aesthetic. And, so far, he’s not tempted to return to menswear.
“Womenswear allows for more creativity. There’s a bigger market for it and more resources,” he said. “It’s a learning experience.”
For more information, call (323) 938-0189. —Erin Barajas
