Alessandro Dell’Acqua has the art of harmonizing polarities down to a T. His pre-fall collection read as an exercise in idiosyncratic styling, playing on apparently irreconcilable elements to gently break the rules of symmetry. “I don’t like going for predictable standards,” he said at a showroom appointment.
Without courting subversion, Dell’Acqua has a way of shuffling the cards of everyday dressing, injecting wardrobe staples with newness and tasteful cool. Punk and bourgeois, sexy and demure, polished and undone are contrasting references that he regenerates in each collection. Adding a layer of blurred gender codes further jazzes up his disciplined yet free-style mélange.
“An experiment in cohabitation,” is how the designer described his pre-fall m.o. Classic black-and-white textured tweed was infused with sequins and rendered into a casual bomber-and-miniskirt suit; grungy checkered wool was layered with black chiffon and cut into a zippered blouson, paired with roomy, slouchy chinos in sturdy khaki cotton. On the same note, fluffy mohair jumpers were tucked into bow-shaped ultra-minis in luscious duchesse. Tube skirts dripping in silver sequins looked cool worn with an oversized padded jacket, while a sexy bustier top in wool lace came with side pockets as if it were athleisure. Slightly eccentric, with plenty of attractive specimens, the collection made the case for Dell’Acqua’s consummate flair for blending wearability and undone, sensuous quirk.
