"When I think about Canali, the '50s immediately come to mind," said creative consultant Andrea Pompilio of his new Canali collection, a decidedly Mr. Ripley affair of lean tailored suits, toweling polo shirts, impalpable duster coats, and precious colors. "That is such an iconic era for masculine style," he added. "I paid homage, no nostalgia needed."
Weightlessness and a blur of the masculine/feminine boundaries are current preoccupations in Milanese menswear. Pompilio's Canali collection took part in this widespread game, in its own exquisitely sartorial way. Silk organza, for instance, was used profusely for airy outerwear, while tailoring came in gemlike tones. To make the sartorial work subtly apparent, most pieces came with a painstaking inside-out construction. Function was another big theme: Blousons sported inner shoulder straps, "for those sudden spring heats," Pompilio explained.
Since his appointment, Pompilio has been providing Canali with a contemporary point of view on the classicism the house is known for. So far, the marriage has proven a good one, and this collection was a further step forward. It might not have reset the fashion clock anew, but it was a well-balanced, considered outing.
