MILAN, ITALY — She’ll always be a punk chick at heart, but the N.21 girl is clearly going places. She has a real job now, for starters – and so does her male counterpart – so they need daywear options that make it all work.
Of course, as is often the case in Milan, they’re likely in a field where slim-cut toppers, cropped skirts, and cosy-chic numbers are the norm. When not styled with basic, figure-hugging cottons, these pieces might be paired with a breezy throw-on blazer or a richly coloured tight; only the most daring, or perhaps the most laid-back, will wear the crisp, deliberately airy shirts during office hours.
Other pieces, especially the dresses, can go just about anywhere. Among them were poplin and cotton-blend styles layered under black wool twin sets. Since its inception, Alessandro Dell Acqua’s biggest star has been the skirt in its many ample iterations, styled with shimmer, flamboyance, and pizzazz. This season, the cool-girl contingent remains, rendered in neutrals, though they’re somewhat upstaged by lamé staples in white and grey that – swapped with a pencil skirt or an evening dress – transition easily from the office to a beach holiday.
As for the collection’s versatility, while Dell’Acqua loves to place his cool girl in an uptown setting, his wear-anywhere Fall offerings give the wearer room to grow up, introducing more mature styles that expand the brand’s broader language. Key statements for Fall include a lace slip dress with full chiffon lining; a chiffon cape clashed against a classic mannish suit; a wide kimono coat; and a pencil skirt paired with a short, low-cut jacket suit.
All in all, Dell’Acqua creates quietly arty staples with an emphasis on construction and fit. This season, he struck a balance between concealment and revelation, weaving in a dash of pared-back neutrality.
“I was keen to capture the simple truths of women in an everyday context,” Dell’Acqua noted. “To stress the normality of this sensation, I made unremitting use of black — the colour non-colour that represents subtraction, yet also the neutral space on which to set down the start of something.” He concluded with palpable excitement for what lies ahead.
by Chidozie Obasi