Alessandro Dell’Acqua’s Pre-Fall presentation coincided with his birthday, although nobody would have known had a member of his staff not mentioned it. Dell’Acqua is far too discreet for such announcements and he’s too busy to be distracted. He opens his first No.21 store in Milan in January and is set to launch a children’s line in 2016, too. During the appointment he said he was intent on “breaking the rules” this season. By that he meant introducing some random design elements. “Pre-Fall allows for an unrestrained freedom as opposed to focusing on one concept and evolving it for a runway show,” he said.
And fun it was. Known for pieces that marry an off-kilter aristocratic sensibility with a free-spirited street ease, here Dell’Acqua enlivened sober caban coats with strips of velvet and grosgrain, revived prim silk and lace dresses in military hues, and replaced bourgeois feather detailing with oversize sequins resembling plumes. The collection’s rich textiles went beyond his usual European references. Taking cues from early and modern Peruvian art, Dell’Acqua spliced eye-catching multicolored striped sleeves onto wool coats, updated for the Internet age with fur and nylon inserts.
The Italian designer has always liked to add a dose of masculinity to his decidedly feminine creations—see the nubby sheepskin-sleeved biker jacket and a wool military style with khaki patent leather sleeves—and he’s a dab hand at transforming men’s business shirts. “Everyone wants lightness,” he said. But for all the boyish touches, the motif that dominated was the bow, a pretty symbol that evidently means business, and lots of it. Oversize silk versions transformed cocktail dresses and all manner of his burgeoning accessories offering worked the motif. Footwear had the simple embellishment as its focus, and he reports that his coquettish boot style has been restocked three times in Selfridges this season.
