Born and bred in Naples (in Pompei, no less), Francesco Scognamiglio is still deeply in love with this city of staggering beauty and louche-ness, opposites that coexist in a web of inextricable contradictions. This clearly feels quite natural for the designer, who delves with abandon into Naples’s history and decadent heritage for inspiration. All that was apparent in his Spring collection, in which he referenced the esoteric Sansevero Chapel, a 16th-century masterpiece that hosts the statue of the Veiled Christ—a marble wonder that looks so incredibly real, as if it were made of actual flesh draped in the thinnest of fabric.
“Theater, mirrors, artifice,” said the designer backstage, pointing out wispy, ruffled dresses in white and shell pink, light as a feather and almost liquid in their sensuality. Transparent Chantilly lace and inconspicuous point d’esprit conjured up a romantic feel for fluctuating long dresses, exuding reminiscences of boudoirs and 18th-century courtesans—yet they were slashed, layered, and multitiered to modern effect. Black silk mikado jackets with round shoulders felt more substantial; they came inlaid with graphic intarsia inspired by peeling stucco ceilings that looked like cracks through which a delicate jade green lining could be glimpsed. Dresses in white or black liquid satin were printed and embroidered with an oversize iris motif and adorned with an abundance of rosette appliqués; they balanced the overall barely there effect and the nude transparencies of the lineup. The craftsmanship was undoubtedly exquisite. It makes sense that Scognamiglio—backed by a new investor, Malaysian entrepreneur Johann Young—will debut his Haute Couture collection in Paris in 2016, where he’ll finally fulfill a childhood dream.
