Roberto Verino brings his Spanish style to New York

Amid curtains of black lace and silk rose petal-covered carpets, Spanish designer Roberto Verino showed a 25-year retrospective of his work that he hopes will launch him into the American market.

His mostly black and white silk, wool and linen designs spanning a quarter of a century with some in red, gold, brown and hot pink are featured at The Gabarron Foundation Carriage House Center for the Arts on Manhattan’s East Side.

The retrospective, which runs through March 10, is a long way from his atelier in Madrid. But Verino told Reuters he hopes the show will help his work catch on in New York.

“I think New York City is going to be a catapult for me to enable people to get to know my work in this globalized world we find ourselves in today,” Verino said.

The veteran of the Paris and Milan runways said he dreams of showing his designs at New York Fashion Week.

“We would like to be part of it, but it will not be before we have a store here,” he said.

In his 25 years in fashion, Verino said the biggest change he has seen has been in the spirit of women’s clothes, especially in Spain, where he has been working.

“It’s gone from being repressed. Now she’s a free woman. She has her own means and she can choose,” he explained.

Although he also designs men’s clothes, he said he loves women’s curves. His inspiration, he said, is “an emotionally and economically stable woman who works.”

He described his style as “very clean and very simple.” His use of lighter fabrics is due to his clients’ lifestyles, not global warming.

“Today people travel from one climate to another so they need to wear very functional clothing.”

A woman’s black vest and pants in silk crepe and viscose, paired with an ivory organza blouse with Swarovski crystal buttons — a style from his spring/summer 1993 collection — looked similar to the tailored menswear looks for women shown for spring 2008 in New York.

But some clothes in the retrospective were meant for destinations more glamorous than the office or the boardroom, including a red silk and leather mini dress with neckline plunging to the navel from his spring 2004 collection, and a Frida Kahlo-inspired black silk dress trimmed with red crystals and black feathers from spring 1995.