Within the blank space of Pier 59 Studios, Carmen Marc Valvo cast a radiant fall sunset over his Fall/Winter 2017 collection. Valvo was inspired by a sunset that he witnessed outside of his Costa Rican beach house. With accordion pleats galore, Valvo’s collection unfolded another layer of Valvo’s famed silhouettes and flawless colors.

Drawing away from his classic structured frame, Valvo executed a collection full of flowing silhouettes, flattering any woman’s shape. Valvo used rich purples, browns, fuschias, black and orange to fully emulate a fall sunset.

With high profile attendees, like Alec Baldwin, Miss Universe Iris Mittenaere and Miss USA Deshauna Barber, the Carmen Marc Valvo presentation was packed. The designer garnered a wide acclaim for his use of pleats and a range of high and deep-v necklines. When the models weren’t being photographed and awed over, they took photographs off to the side while being blown with a wind machine. The photos were then shown in real time, projected onto a wall for all to see.

Valvo embraced cultural diversity within his cast of models, including a wide range of ethnicities. Keeping the hair simple and off the neckline, the models rocked teased, piecey, low ponytails. All the models had glowy skin to emulate a warm fall night and not draw away from the real show stopper— the sunset inspired eyeshadow.

Pleats were a big hit in 2016, but get ready for them to make another comeback as Valvo prepares us for the upcoming trend. The two fuschia hued pieces, one a cocktail dress and the other a blouse, featured accordion sleeves, which beautifully unfolded when the models placed their hands atop their hips. The models flounced their skirts from side-to-side to show off the magic beneath the pleats. Especially in the case of a brown floor length gown, the model swayed right and left to show off the glimmering rose gold metallic glitter within the folds.

The Carmen Marc Valvo F/W 2017 collection surely lives up to Valvo’s classic couture elegance and truly transported the viewer to witness the Costa Rican sunset.

Email Pamela Jew at [email protected].