Barbara Casasola: The Brazilian designer specialized in sophisticated knitwear and effortless suiting.
Barbara Casasola was born in Brazil but studied and built her career in Europe, where she worked with Roberto Cavalli, Lanvin, Chloe, and more. Her label, Casasola, was launched in 2012.
Casasola's collections are designed in London, where she has her studio. However, the luxury brand is based in Florence, Italy - providing the highest quality materials available in the market to develop each piece. According to Casasola's website, the brand is specialized in easy, sporty, knitwear, and effortless suiting.
Asked why to specialize in knitwear by German journalist Lilli Heinemann for Villa Lena on August 20, 2020, Casasola answered, "The reason why I love knitwear so much is that you create something from zero. It's so unique, I can choose the composition, create the texture I want, like a plissé or pleat, and I also love that there is not much waste with knitwear. It's a combination of really high-skilled craftsmanship, amazing technology, and innovation. I also love the comfort of knitwear and that anybody shape can wear it, there is something for everyone, and that is unique."
Casasola's brand idea is to simplify and bring sophistication to the women's wardrobe. "It's about rationalizing it and focusing on quality and longevity," Casasola added.
Spring 2017 had fluid midi dresses in neutral colors - white, caramel, rust, black. Dresses of the shoulder, long V necks, and sensuality's emblematic touch within the knits' transparency. Blazer pared with shorts, tunics made of silk and linen, trench coats, a crop top with a circular embellishment paired with a midi skirt. Julia Neel, for WWD, on September 18, 2016, described, "If a young Katharine Hepburn were to make a film set in the Brazilian jungle now, this is what she'd wear."
Casa De Vidro [or Glass House] by the modernist architect Lina Bo Bardi in Sao Paulo, Brazil, was the main inspiration for Casasola's Summer 2018 collection, presented outside of the runways. According to Caroline Issa, for The Telegraph UK, on February 26, 2019, "Casasola made a conscious effort to step off the runway merry-go-round and focus on creating a wardrobe she would want to wear on a daily basis."
Describing Casa de Vidro, Casasola says to Thomas Sweeney, for The Line, on March 12, 2018, "It's raw tropical beauty set in a concrete metropolis." She adds, "For the collection, that means organic volumes and sensual shapes that mix with clean, masculine lines."
The midi length is constant on Casasola's collections, appearing in Summer 2018 in a cross-front pleated silk-blend black dress and a zip-front stretch-linen frock with a paneled bustier. The colors maintain neutral, this time with one-shoulder pieces and front knot blouses. The trench coats present a military inspiration and ton-sur-ton embellishments.
Fall-Winter 2018 was a continuation of Casasola's previous collection - also inspired by Casa de Vidro. Same color palette but with darker pieces â black and caramel. Turtle neckpieces, loose fit pants, and the signature midi dress, with and without sleeves. "My label is about mixing moments of tension and release, which expresses a relaxed-but-ready attitude to the woman I design for," explains Casasola to Sweeney.
Casasola's Spring Summer 2019 also brings a connection with an architect, in this case, the exceptional Oscar Niemeyer. Casasola explains in her journal, "Designed by Oscar Niemeyer in 1951 as his family home, Casa das Canoas is a landmark of modern architecture and has long been a big inspiration for me. In a uniquely Brazilian way, his visual language manages to be pragmatic but also feminine and sensual."
Casa das Canoas is situated in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and it was the inspiration and location where the collection was photographed. Spring Summer 2019 has lots of white, light grey, and some pieces in black. Following the brand's standards, midi lengths, tight blouses, stretch-knitwear, and suiting.
Introducing a new range of sporty knitwear, made with sustainably sourced Italian viscose, and a new line of unstructured, effortless suiting made with fine organic fibers, Casasola's Spring Summer 2020 was photographed in a studio in Florence, Italy.
The collection included ribbed stretch-knit dresses, tailored pieces made with organic mulesing- free wool, silk, and linen-blend, pieces mixing knit and viscose, and more. Spring Summer 2020Â brought some earth tones - as usual â although focusing on a pink and yellow palette going to a shiny brown and light blue.
Casasola's most recent collection, Autumn-Winter 2020, is a continuation of the previous season, although with more fluid shapes and darker colors. There are stretch-knit dresses with a ribbed finish that closely hugs the bodice before flaring out to a pleated, midi skirt, tailoring pieces from a blend of silk and cashmere - they are tailored for a high-rise fit and have flattering straight legsâ Blazers and shorts with a long fitting made of wool. Ribbed-knit midi dresses with a deep V- neckline dyed in a fresh ivory hue and sharply pleated skirts.
About the current world pandemic and Casasola's future, the designer is optimistic and sees it as a moment to re-think. She explains to Heinemann, "This is a time to let go of old ideas and refresh our thinking. Social distancing has given us a chance to reflect on our choices and reconnect with nature and who we are. Coming out of this moment, we all need to edit and renew our focus on quality and substance. As an independent brand, we've been able to do things differently since the start of Casasola."
Images from Casasola Brand