Delft Touch
Valentino’s Pierpaolo Picciolo takes pride in couture values, and believes firmly in their resonance for today. For pre-fall, he played with the concept of wardrobe-building, often blurring haute’s onetime strict divisions between day and night. Along the way, he mined themes from the house’s rich archive, including the house founder’s 1968 Blue Delft haute couture collection.
Valentino
No formal pre- fall press session for Valentino this time around; Pierpaolo Piccioli’s schedule wouldn’t permit one. After creating a separate couture collection that he showed in Beijing last month, and with his January men’s and couture shows right around the corner, sandwiching in a trip to Gotham wasn’t in the cards. Instead, Piccioli shot his look book in Rome, allowing the photos to stand in for in- person perusal.
Piccioli’s design approach remained constant: the celebration of couture values within a modern, real-life context. He focused this collection on wardrobebuilding in a manner that subverted haute’s historical subdivisions — day, cocktail, evening — to keep the concept current with the realities of the way women dress today, mixing, breaking down, layering up and ultimately blurring boundaries between day and night. “I wanted to twist the idea of wardrobe as perceived in couture, to reference the idea of dressing for ‘occasions’ but creating a wardrobe which is contemporary,” he said. “I didn’t want to treat the past as something heavy and not part of the present.”
As always, Piccioli did so by exploring the house’s rich history and then having his way with it. Here, he achieved a deft fusion of flamboyance and ease, the former in bold colors and patterns, and the latter, in shapes that felt relaxed even when tailored, and especially in the irreverent attitude his models projected. From the bountiful archive Piccioli here mined four motifs: blue delft from a 1968 couture collection; geometric prints from the Seventies; flashy Eighties derivations and chic tailoring, long a hallmark of the house.
If it sounds like the makings of a diverse lineup, it was, with countless variations of silhouette, and especially of mood. If one aspect of inclusiveness is to offer clothes that appeal to a broad range of women, Piccioli nailed the construct, offering looks that project pure refinement (ankle-length high-neck dress with a blown-up delft pattern on white); jaunty sportif (those geometric knits); cheeky sensuality (dotted balloonskirted minidress with puffed sleeves). Throughout, many looks combined elements of day and night, in a manner that radiated charm and confidence.
Of course, not every occasion calls for blurred boundaries. Piccioli showed numerous statement gowns, including a bejeweled tiered tulle beauty and another with crystal- embroidered beading on a barely there silk base. Because some events call for high glamour in sharp focus. — Bridget Foley
Gucci
Alessandro Michele is a designer who likes to develop consistent and elaborate narratives. Over the past few years he has proven that he doesn’t feel the need to jump from one message to another season after season. His pre-fall collection confirmed this signature attitude, defining Michele not only as a rule-breaker but also an authentic brand and image builder.
The spring 2020 show marked a turning point for the designer, who shifted his flamboyant, heady and madcap aesthetic into more restrained and simpler territories.
“The pre-fall 2020 collection is the next chapter after the September show. It tells the same story about proportion, silhouette and, above all, the balance between shape and color,” said Michele, referring to the studied combination of fairly essential lines and eye-catching tones including, for example, the vibrant red of a streamlined Seventies leather suit, the bright orange of a polished cocoon cape and the vivid lime green of a double-breasted damier jacket with wide lapels matched with a cream-white pleated skirt and bold purple suede boots.
In keeping with his approach, the collection, which was photographed by Bruce Gilden, focused more on defining particular human characters rather than following more traditional merchandising formulas. This strategy helped convey that sense of free-spirited eclecticism that has become deeply connected with Gucci’s image in the Michele era.
This season the human identities portrayed in the collection stood out more for their sophistication than their quirkiness. In fact, the collection included a range of smart, covetable pieces, such as a chic loden pleated coat; a refined white textured suit — its jacket featuring a detachable cape detail; a fun shearling maxi coat with a magnified houndstooth pattern, as well as a range of metallic dresses, spanning from sequined gowns to liquid velvet mini frocks.
Already explored for spring, Michele’s take on sexiness returned with lingerie details, plunging necklines, risky cutouts and high slits. Offering his interpretation of the renowned Gucci sex appeal as imagined in the Nineties by Tom Ford, Michele proved that his Gucci girls can not only amaze but also charm. — Alessandra Turra
Balmain
Olivier Rousteing reached into Balmain’s heady past, dragging out sketches and prints — with paisleys — which he used to add extra pizzazz to an assertive lineup of brand staples: oversize suit jackets with sharp shoulders, tailored vests carved into snappy minidresses and statement outerwear — puffer coats in black leather or sequins and velvet, tweed capes and a cropped faux-fur number with jean trim. Armor, all of it, for next week’s paparazziready Insta-star.
She’ll also be wearing thigh-high boots, easily paired with tweeds in bright red or electric blue, the gold buttons usually ran in twos, double-breasted suit style. Tartan fabric served as backdrop for couture pieces, the fancier versions embellished with elaborate, beaded patterns with swirly leaves and stylized paisleys.
Moving past bright tartans at the brand’s buzzing Paris headquarters — a downpour of rain and transport strikes did nothing to temper activity — Rousteing turned to the colorful, Eighties-flavored prints.
“It’s a psychedelic paisley — the paisley was something Monsieur Balmain used a lot,” he said. The designer drew on sketches harking back to the Fifties, which he sought to rebuild for today’s client.
So he worked the motif in a forceful palette of hot yellows and reds, throwing in some pale pastels, too, along with black-and-white accents on a long, velvet sequined ballgown. It was a fitted piece that showed off curves while covering the entire body, down to the wrists, over the toes, and up to the chin. Another rendition came super short, thigh-baring and shoulderless, with exaggerated sleeves jetting out from the upper arms.
For flow, the pattern was printed on an airy-light silk gown, and all-black velvet devoré, high-collared and cinched at the waist, with extra puff on the shoulder. Surefire bestsellers for future Madison Avenue shoppers, where the brand is readying a new flagship, due to open in April.
In less elaborate, and younger styles, the paisleys showed up on oversize printed T-shirts, bandana-style.
Cinched, tailored looks — many in signature black and white — included an electric blue jacket with an empty lapel that carried an Eighties flair.
Today’s luxury clients are also out for a bit more bang for their buck.
“People want to spend for a reason, and I think for years, they spent for a trend and now they want to spend for timeless pieces,” noted Rousteing. He gestured toward his answer — couture pieces in bright solids — hot pink, electric blue or yellow, with delightfully short and voluminous skirts that folded, swirled or spiked out, in clever, threedimensional forms.
Rousteing said he is looking forward to having his documentary “Wonder Boy” hit the U.S. market — French and American production companies are still finalizing the choice of platform.
“I can’t wait to be there,” he said, noting he hopes it helps people to see beyond the caricature of luxury designers in towers, and understand that they have their own struggles.
“I come from an orphanage, so of course it was tough,” he said, before moving on to other topics keeping him busy, such as the recent Puma collaboration — “incredible sell-through” — but no word yet on who will be the new chief executive officer.
— Mimosa Spencer
Adam Lippes
Adam Lippes is quietly making some of the most interesting clothes in New York. He’s building his brand his way, slowly, with careful deliberation that includes ample interface with customers. Lippes makes no bones that his is a largely American business, and he travels the country visiting stores. “It’s maybe the one thing I’ve done that separates me from my compatriots — spending that time,” he said during a showroom appointment. “I hear what she wants, what works.” Yet he indulges organic, gut-feeling moments, even in his approach to certain essential decisions. Is the upcoming fall season the right time for his first real runway show? Lippes thinks so, and expects to claim a Saturday morning slot.
His pre-fall collection perfectly exemplifies the subtle power of his clothes. Lippes isn’t a theme guy, though if anything, he’s inspired by interiors, whether an old wallpaper pattern from his childhood home or the lace edges of vintage linen napkins, here reconfigured as pointy collars popping out from otherwise unadorned cashmere sweaters. Yet several larger defining threads ran through his lineup. Overarching and constant from season to season: the attitude of the clothes. Lippes isn’t chasing kids. He knows who can afford to buy his clothes; she pretty much starts at 35 and goes up from there. Even well beyond that entry point, there’s nothing fusty-musty about her style, and Lippes does what some designers in that space struggle to do: deliver polished refinement with a modernist attitude that says chic multitasking in 2019 rather than chic lunching on Madison in 1980-something.
Here, he fused the austere and the decorative in a manner that read variously masculine-feminine (white
Swiss voile reembroidered shirt worn with into trousers) or tony librarian with a secret lust for froth ( black scallopedhemmed dress over blouse with short bell sleeves and bow neck). The juxtaposition surfaced as well in a dress cut from sturdy khaki twill with a big Pierrot and neon eyelet trim.
Lippes continued with the volume he’s worked for some time only with a bit more restraint, as in an enchanting pale green organza gown with a big back bow that fell from the neckline down the length of the dress. Conversely, for women who prefer a more sportif approach to dressing up, he offered an oversized white shirt worn loose in back over wide-cropped white pants. Two sides of a single alluring aesthetic. — Bridget Foley
Brandon Maxwell
Sometimes fashion is about careful consideration and sometimes it’s about impulse. On Friday, as he was readying his pre-fall for retailers, a lightbulb turned on for Brandon Maxwell, illuminating the fact that, for the first time, he should show the collection to press.
A couple of e-mails later — done. Why the sudden change of routine? Maxwell’s brand is still young. He has only been shipping clothes to stores for four years, and past pre-seasons kind of left him a bit cold. “The clothes weren’t necessarily reflective of who I am or where I’m at,” he said during the hastily scheduled appointment. Feeling happy and empowered after his September runway show, Maxwell determined to transfer that buoyancy to this pre-fall effort. He set out to make a collection just of things he likes, period, no deeper resonance than that. Gathering his team, he told them, “Let’s just start with colors we like, with fabrics we like. Let’s not do anything other than just make what we like.”
Backing that up: daily direct online communication with his customer about what she likes, wants, needs. That includes daywear. Originally perceived as a redcarpet guy, Maxwell emphasized that his business is heavily weighted toward day, a reality he wanted to drive home for pre-fall. His all-time best-selling item is a pair of ripped jeans, which he reprised here. In fact, the lineup has a considerable tony basics component — crisp shirts, tank tops, simple sweaters, trim blazers, slim-cut pants — put together to look Texas sexy, casual but unapologetic. Maxwell, who famously started out as a stylist, has reembraced that skill set. “I think for some time I leaned out from being a stylist, but I love being a stylist. I love putting the pieces together,” he said.
Not that it’s all about pieces. Maxwell knows his way around a good dress, and loves a waist-conscious silhouette and skirt with movement for day and night. He also loves color, and here he showed plenty. He focused on a range of vibrant oranges, their impact heightened by the showroom table setting. It featured voluptuous roses and a big bowl of Swedish fish in shades of the hue. All very different from the black and white that dominated his early shows, but ultimately, more reflective of his natural aesthetic — and personality. “I do think I’m kind of a colorful person,” Maxwell said. Color him self-aware. — Bridget Foley
Dennis Basso
Pre-fall 2020 has Dennis Basso taking a romantic stroll in the garden.
While some of his contemporaries are loading up the season with summery fare, Basso has his feet firmly planted in the world of fall.
After 36 years in the business, Basso is fond of saying he’s dressed whole generations of families, and over the past few seasons he has taken strides to inject some youthful energy into his work. His fur handiwork delivered this point, with shorter evening coats, a wrap that could double as a scarf, and tiered chubbies. Overall, the fur lineup had cleaner silhouettes. Some were in cashmere fur, a new fabric for the brand.
His garden had florals, in prints and embellishments. One large flower print was blown out on a navy fabric, which was used on a section of pieces, from dresses to a few jackets, like a parka with cargo details and sporty zip-up details, it was lined with sheared mink inside, and nipped at the waist with a bungielike chord. The style had a youthful, but still very uptown flare. His garden party continued on day dresses, cocktail frocks and ballgowns. Eveningwear came lightweight and airy.
“Mixing and matching,” Basso said of a little fur jacket he styled with a youngish dress. “Much of this can be worn all yearround. It’s my twist on modern dressing.” — Thomas Waller
Agnona
The Scandinavian elegance as portrayed by Finnish artist Helene Schjerfbeck served as the main inspiration for creative director Simon Holloway.
In particular, the designer looked at the painter’s portraits to create the collection’s signature crisscross neckline defining the essential, chic organic cotton shirts worn under impeccably crafted mannish suits, as well as the feminine, fluid dresses splashed with a wintery floral blossom.
An authentic sense of luxury minimalism took center stage in the lineup, where traditional silhouettes were peppered by special details, such as the knitted back inserts on suits and the leather touches on the lapels of soft tailored coats. Draping gave a dynamic attitude to a cashmere and silk fitted top, which was matched with a plissé skirt in fine wool.
Putting the focus on sustainability, this season the company introduced a new eco- friendly viscose and wool blend and stretch pants were crafted combining wool and recycled polyester. Agnona also replaced down feather and synthetic padding with layers of recycled cashmere.
— Alessandra Turra
Ulla Johnson
Coming off of her spring runway show, Ulla Johnson wanted “something graphic” for the pre-fall season. As always, a mélange of rich, artisanal and worldly inspirations formed this season’s backbone. The vibrant paintings of T.C. Cannon, which Johnson had seen at The National Museum of the American Indian, inspired her palette, which juxtaposed the bold
(sun yellow, royal purple, sunset pink) with earthy (clay, siena and grounded greens), as well as an unexpected jumping off for the collection: the artist’s use of polka dots, which Johnson rendered onto organza frocks for evening.
A recent trip to Nairobi, Africa, where Johnson’s team is continually working on various artisan projects, influenced a continuation of batik (introduced in her resort collection) with strong wax resist that was patchworked onto a hand-smocked dress. Said dress will be available in only limited quantities in her store, due to the lead time of the fabric; commercial takes were, however, printed onto new denim silhouettes. There were also shibori printed offerings, inspired by giraffes spotted on a safari trip, and divine, colorful handblown recycled glass and beaded baubles and ivory and black hand-carved batik sculptural rings made of recycled bone.
While the designer works on a small scale with local artisans to create these special pieces, she hopes to scale in the future.
The inspirations didn’t stop there, as Johnson offered floral dresses that referenced the American Southwest. “I have this sort of obsession with Victoriana and the prairie,” Johnson said. “A time where actually, clothes were also made by hand, which is now a tradition that was lost in this country.” The designer mixed calico prints and silhouettes in soft, cotton silk, adding that traditional Lenape dresses inspired movement within the fluid garments that were layered with hand-knitted sweaters, acid washed denim and poplin shirting. The pre-fall season, once again, proved Johnson’s way of weaving multiple references into aspirational clothing with exquisite details. — Emily Mercer
Ji Oh
Sexy uniform dressing can sound like the calling card for a college Halloween party, but it was actually the aesthetic mood of Ji Oh’s sleek fall collection. Continuing upon a narrative of uniform dress, the designer focused less on schoolgirl, as she did for spring, and leaned heavily into workwear: think orange construction vests and utility boiler suits updated for a girl’s night out.
The concept wasn’t as out-there for Oh as it may sound. Sure, a thread of sexiness was also recently introduced in spring, but the designer often plays with men’s wear ideas in feminine ways. “It can be easily masculine, so I wanted to make it younger and fun,” she said of workman’s uniforms.
She played with color, a relatively new terrain, in ways that felt natural for the brand — like bright orange tapered pants and a sexy fitted dress, both adorned with multiple utility pockets. Derived from utility aprons, big pockets also topped chic tonal shirtdresses and the single jacket Oh cut in military green with a super fitted waist. An overall fitted silhouette was the foundation for making clothes sexier, such as short skirts and dresses with detachable straps, aided by asymmetric crop tops, the big open back of a tight jumpsuit, and sheer accents along the bust of shirting.
The most playful items were born from Oh’s creative impulses to experiment, and included a gender-fluid sweater- shirt hybrid and a shirtdress with trompe l’oeil denim skirt. The most lust-worthy items, though, were the “double shirts” featuring seamed outlines of a shirt atop a shirt, great for girls and guys alike.
— Andrew Shang