“IT’S THE freedom that comes with getting behind the wheel and just driving,” says Marco Capaldo, pinpointing the feeling he wanted to convey in 16Arlington’s spring-summer 2024 collection.
Escapism is at the very core of fashion, and the creative director wanted to bring the London-based brand to a cross-roads this season.
Bringing both feminine and masculine dress codes to the runway, SS24 blends the two opposing notions into a seamlessly elegant array of contemporary archetypes. Office-informed shirting, stilettos and pencil skirts are seen alongside knitted tank tops, fringed kitten heels and body-hugging three-quarter length dresses.
Mismatching formal wear with informalities plays into the strengths of Capaldo, whose recent season saw his creations, both accessory and ready-to-wear at the top of everyone’s wish list and social media feed.
While a new season unravelled, key elements of previous collections have remained playing tricks on the eye and yet showing an evolution from what is expected from the brand. His favoured sequins make a comeback, but this time are crafted from lightweight latex, or polished silver rings, while nylon’s material properties are manipulated so that it creases like paper through movement.
Adding another decadent fabric to the 16Arlington mix are feathers. Found encased in glossy translucent vinyl and shape-shifted into collarless double-breasted coats and strappy tops, the subtle addition is sure to cause the same excited stir as his sequin mania this year.
Painting this idea of accelerating into liberty with SS24, Capaldo’s vision is a green light of what minimalism and glimmers of forgotten glamour can look like when they are brought to an intersection – simple, sophisticated and even quite sexy.
by Imogen Clark