Tuesday, Feb. 24, 1998

Fund-raising event for Charity League has fashion focus

Victor Costa's spring line features embroidery and Asian influences

By DEBORAH MARTIN
Staff Writer

   Designer Victor Costa's success depends on knowing what goes on in women's minds as they stand in front of their closets, deciding how to dress for a special occasion.
   ``It's about knowing where a lady's going and how far she will go,'' Costa said in a telephone interview from his New York office. ``You've got to do something that's not in her closet already, because it's not a uniform. In a place like Corpus, there's a social sameness - she sees the same group of people at the events - so she needs changes of clothing.''
   Costa will be offering some of his ideas on how women can expand their wardrobes at a style show and luncheon Thursday. The afternoon is a fund-raiser for the Charity League of Corpus Christi, which this year will donate the proceeds to HALO-Flight.
   Costa will be showing off his spring line.
   ``It's geared, as my clothes always are, to social occasions and to take the ladies out of their black doldrums and into some color.
   ``The look is very romantic and very feminine, with very flattering colors. It's kind of a breath of spring, with lots of embroidery and spring-flower colors. There are some Asian influences,'' he said.
   Some have mandarin collars; most have flowers embroidered rather than stamped onto the fabric. Several include a matching chiffon scarf, ``so they have a good accessory for the lady.''
   The Asian touches reflect a current trend in fashion, he said.
   ``There is a whole Asian overtone in the colors and the embroidery, and the narrow shapes. All the flowers are really on an Asian bent as well, with singular blooms, very spaced, very airy,'' he said.
   Costa is putting the finishing touches on his fall line, which he would not discuss. ``It's always a surprise,'' he said.
   He draws his ideas, in part, from his biannual trips to Paris. He skips the pret-a-porter shows in favor of the haute couture shows, he said, ``because that is the laboratory of the design, the font of creativity, because they have no limitation, cost-wise. I stay au courant with that.''
   He takes the ideas that catch his attention and simplifies them as he adds his own touches.
   ``You have to remember that the ladies are steeped in minimalism at this point. You want to ease them out of that, but you can't shock them out of that overnight,'' he said.
   FUND-RAISER
   What: Charity League of Corpus Christi style show and luncheon, featuring designer Victor Costa
   When: 11 a.m. Thursday
   Where: Omni Bayfront Hotel, 900 N. Shoreline
   How much: $45. The event is sold out. Proceeds will be donated to HALO-Flight, the non-profit helicopter and fixed-wing air ambulance service for South Texas.