Immediately upon entering the labyrinthine venue for the Canali show today, you could feel that something had changed since the arrival last season of Andrea Pompilio as creative consultant. The straight lines and intimidating solemnity of the past had given way to, well, air. The set looked spacious and luminous. So did the collection.
The match between Canali's faultless classicism and Pompilio's quirky personality is actually a perfect one, despite looking odd on paper. Pompilio has a deft way of twisting and turning the codes of well-behaved elegance, while Canali has the industrial/artisanal ability to transform every idea into a well-made product worth the Made in Italy label.
This season, Pompilio delivered an eclectic wardrobe inspired by Milanese modernism: the ’50s, a time when the city was bursting with ideas and innovation. He took the pureness, the graphic appeal, the architectural textures, and even the sense of nonchalance of the era to create pieces that felt weightless, easy, and precious. Double-face, the most Milanese of crafts, was featured abundantly on coats and blousons with big rounded volumes. Color peppered a clean palette of whites, grays, and blacks, while graphic stripes mounted horizontally on suits and pencil coats felt fresh and desirable. The show went along smoothly, with no real peak or explosive moment. It felt like a breeze of fresh air.
