Daily Front Row

2009 February 20

Friends of Costa

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Francisco Costa and Natalia Vodianova
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(NEW YORK) “We're going to be very quiet today,” said Francisco Costa when discussing his night of after-show plans. “We're just taking a studio out for drinks.” Granted, there was no elaborate dinner or star-filled party for Calvin Klein's women’s effort this season, but the atmosphere at the show was plenty frenzied. Big editors abounded, as usual, while front-rowers Eva Mendes, Kate Beckinsale, and Natalia Vodianova enticed plenty of flashbulbs. There was even a coronation of Jac, a young Polish model who opened the show. She appears to be following in the footsteps of current Calvin obsession Anna Selezneva. Interestingly, Toni Garrn didn’t walk in the show.
 
“We're both very ambitious and creative people,” said Costa’s good friend Mendes. “He's from Brazil and I'm Cuban-American so we share this certain, irreplaceable joie de vivre.” As for her favorite Calvin moment of all time? “I actually screamed at last year’s CFDA awards when Francisco won,” she smiled. “That's called losing it a bit.” “I'm a Calvin newbie,” Beckinsdale said. “I've just met Francisco for the first time. There's just something clean and astonishing about the company.”
 
One of the impressive things about Costa and Calvin is, of course, the religious following the brand inspires. Craig McDean, Fabien Baron, Terry Richardson, and socials like Amanda Brooks, Yvonne Force Villareal, Poppy Delevigne, and Dree Hemingway chatted at company’s headquarters on Thursday; meanwhile, the man of the moment never seemed more relaxed than ever. “I'm just lucky to have this amazing job,” Costa gushed. “If I wouldn't be excited or motivated about the show, there'd be something wrong with me.”
VALENTINE UHOVSKI