A trio of vintage shoes was displayed in glass cases at Bally, variously dating from the ’40s, ’50s, and ’60s. Upon viewing the presentation, it was evident that creative director Pablo Coppola threw in an ’80s reference as well. Bally’s ready-to-wear and accessories are very much in keeping, then, with the season’s little-of-this, little-of-that vintage mood. It’s a definite shift from Coppola’s early, rather minimal collections for the over-a-century-and-a-half-old Swiss brand, and he admitted as much. “It’s the color that’s selling,” he said, “so I decided not to fight it.” As Coppola and Bally CEO Frédéric de Narp continue to reinvigorate the formerly sleepy company, it makes business sense to reflect the fashion shifts happening around us.
The colors here certainly were bold: bright pink, lime green, and red balanced by black and white and neutrals. For prints, Coppola did leopard spots on a mink jacket, a mod minidress, and glossy knits. A black-and-white swirl pattern lifted from one of Carl Franz Bally’s journals appeared on the collection’s best number: a floor-grazing style with long, ruched sleeves. With a new U.S. flagship on Rodeo Drive in L.A., Coppola said evening will be a bigger part of the house picture. (No Oscar noms in Bally last night, but watch this space next year.) A black V-neck column pieced together from leather and silk qualified as the most elegant and understated look in the lineup. The leopard-spot mink shower slides he paired with it were a different, trendier story. They mingled among fishnet-covered bejeweled-heeled pumps and booties in gold python with pink quilted toe caps. All together? Even more eclectic than those three vintage styles in the glass cases.