It's his tenth anniversary in fashion, which was all the excuse Alessandro Dell'Acqua needed to reflect on his greatest hits. "I love dresses, I love knitwear, I love nude and black," he said backstage, and all those elements were present in his new collection. Though there were accents of green, purple, and leopard print, the definitive Dell'Acqua outfit for fall is a bustier dress in black nylon, hand-hemmed in a hefty weight of black beading, with a tiny little black cardigan tugged over the top.
The designer momentarily broke with the past by skipping the chiffon he's often used to achieve his signature veiling effects, instead using a black techno-tulle that is more commonly employed as an extreme-sports fabric. It was laid to suggestive effect over flesh-tone knitwear or a nude dress made of lining fabric. Though the result hinted at something vaguely fetishistic, Dell'Acqua insisted he had the earthiness of legendary Italian actress Anna Magnani in mind. The dark smudged eyes and bed hair of the models certainly suggested her influence. So did the casual sensuality of an outfit that featured a shirt open over a bra, worn with a nude pencil skirt and a big woolen stole. The bra, however, was in gleaming lacquered wool, a reminder of the technical fabric treatments that frequently characterize Dell'Acqua's work. These were highlighted to great effect on a coat whose intricate pattern was formed from laser-cut fur on a techno-fabric background. The lining of lingerie lace, meanwhile, meant all the designer's fascinations were brought together in one item.
