Imagine some impossible fantasy vintage store in which no garment was quite like anything else you’d seen, everything looked as if it might speak to you, and it was all in perfect condition. When he gets it right, as he did here, Andrea Pompilio produces the clothes you might imagine filling such a store. Why vintage? Not because his clothes look old or dated, but because they are all made with great tactile care.
This season Pompilio used a slightly spongy, supersoft, and lightly bobbly felted cashmere flannel in blue and black to make white-stitched jackets worn over loose six-pleat pants. The fabric was also used in his sweatpants, with stitched side lines in different hues dependent on the colorway and fabric. Other fabrics included gray jersey and golden jumbo corduroy, which he used for a moleskin-shouldered Royal Tenenbaums–ish suit. Lumberjack check was promoted from shirt to jacket. Yes, it’s true, that was a Native American illustration on his Scottish wool sweaters, but Italian and U.S. cultural sensitivities are not yet in sync.
Shirting came sometimes collarless with delicately frayed necklines or with a clever detachable ruffle that allowed the wearer to channel his inner fop or de-ruffle for conventional contexts. The polished burgundy loafers had laces topped with gleaming beads of Murano glass. This was a collection to delight in going through, holding up to the light, and seeing if something sparked.
