You could say Barbara Casasola has had a charmed run. After a critically acclaimed London Fashion Week debut last September, the Porto Alegre, Brazila born, London-based upstart was tapped to be the sole womena's wear presenter at Pitti Uomo, the biannual menswear trade show in Florence, an honor previously accorded to Peter Pilotto and Rodarte.

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The cousin had a point. Consider Casasolaa€™s spring/ summer 2014 lineup, which, inspired by the work of Brazilian constructivist master Lygia Clark, explores the duality of discipline and sensuality: There is something decidedly not of this century about the evening dressesa€”and they are almost all evening dresses, with a few soigne jumpsuits and pencil skirts in the mixa€”that she crafts from unembellished satins, cadys, and organzas, with hems cropped just above the ankle. a€?A lot of people think it makes you look shorter,a€? says Casasola of her preferred silhouette. a€?But ita€™s the other way around.a€?

This courage of conviction allows such friends of the designer as Caroline Issa and Brazilian princess Paola Orleans e Braganca and other fansa€”like, say, Gwyneth Paltrowa€”to stand tall in her designs. (The five-inch pumps she collaborated on with Manolo Blahnik also help). Casasola has a Central Saint Martins degree and design work at Lanvin on her resume, but she says she learned the most from her seamstress grandmother, who never left the house in anything but a maxi-length. The lesson, she says: a€?Luxury is simplicity.a€?

Eveningwear was my starting point for my first, AW 2012 collection, because my sense of what was out there tended to reference a different generation. I went for a kind of Madame Gres-meets-1990s Helmut Lang; or a certain mix of elegance and attitude.

You could say Barbara Casasola has had a charmed run. After a critically acclaimed London Fashion Week debut last September, the Porto Alegre, Brazila€“born, London-based upstart was tapped to be the sole womena€™s wear presenter at Pitti Uomo, the biannual menswear trade show in Florence, an honor previously accorded to Peter Pilotto and Rodarte. But the 29-year-old wasna€™t always sure shea€™d have industry supporta€”or even familial understanding. a€?When my cousin saw my first collection, she started laughinga€”hard,a€? the designer says sheepishly. She was like, a€?It looks like grandmaa€™s clothes!a€?