Where the Wild Things Are
If we’re not a fan of “high concept” fashion shows — even as we allow that a concept is a viable launchpad for a creative project — it’s probably because we believe fashion is art, and art is primarily something to be experienced.
More often that not, concepts are reductive. Yes, you can call Picasso’s women violent, or Marc Chagall’s melting sherbet landscapes “dreamlike,” but to try and “explain” the experience of a painting rather obviates the need for the painting to have been created in the first place.
Sneak Piccioli
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So it is with Pierpaolo Piccioli’s pre-fall 2017 collection, which took place in New York yesterday. If the concept of New York as the gateway to the land of the free — supported by a Nina Simone soundtrack — appeared mainly in a ’20s-inspired sensibility, it took nothing from a gorgeous collection that is — like all great art — something to experience viscerally. Or, as Nabokov said, with the “top of the tingling spine.”
Piccioli’s mastery of color took center stage, with Victorian violets to mod-’60s tangerines. Here were glossy leathers and shiny furs, textured suedes and appliqués. Indeed, the collection explored several eras, while making exquisite use of layering and juxtaposition: minks over PJs, and lace with galoshes.
Piccioli’s mastery of color took center stage.
If ever a young girl wandered out onto the moors on a rainy night, prepared to get right back into bed, many of these would be the perfect ensemble for such a storybook stroll.
Runway
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Editors Melanie Sutrathada and Chris Lavish were on hand to see the collection up close. Video to follow, so stay tuned.
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With love,
FWO
