Lorenzo Serafini is newly installed at Philosophy, but his years at Dolce & Gabbana and Roberto Cavalli before that left him an expert at conjuring a specific time and place. For Resort, it was the '80s. Having grown up in that decade and having listened to the same music as Serafini did—Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet—we can vouch for the authenticity of his ruffle-front shirts, high-waisted jeans, and smock-waist dresses in vintage Liberty prints. Serafini put the emphasis on dresses. They came in broderie anglaise, candy-colored silk crepe trimmed in macramé, or printed cotton voile with delicate lace borders, and despite the finery of the fabrics, like the smock-waist number mentioned earlier, most of them had an easy, summery wearability.
These clothes arrive in stores right around Christmas, though, so it wasn't all light-as-air frocks. Serafini wisely opted out of obvious '80s references on his tailoring. Shoulders-out-to-there didn't look feminine then and they don't look feminine now, and if there's one thing that defines Serafini's Philosophy, it's its romantic sensibility. A pair of peacoats in a nubby ecru weave with deep bands of navy stripes at the hem looked great, as did the little tailored jacket he paired with a black-and-white-striped silk blouse and jeans.
