Francesco Scognamiglio has quite a lot on his plate. Besides designing the customary four collections a year, something that has become the norm for most designers, he’s busy prepping his couture line, which will be presented in Paris in less than 10 days. He was in an upbeat mode; couture has so far been a success, triggering a chain reaction of positive karma, bringing about more international recognition and media attention, loads of celebrities swooning over his concoctions, and the best department stores asking for exclusives. An increased confidence was the obvious result, and it trickled down to his Pre-Fall lineup.
There’s always a whiff of decadence about Scognamiglio’s style, an irreverent bourgeois bent mixed with a romantic-meets-fetish dark side. Case in point were a few looks printed in chiffon or lace and paired with black leather, as in a short slip dress worn with a white needle-punched, macramé-inset sweatshirt. It also underlined the sporty vibe that the designer introduced in the lineup. This was rendered in its own idiosyncratic way, with the addition of abundant ruching sprouting up from collars or trailing from sleeves, texture piercings of see-through intarsia and cut-outs.
Shirting was inventive, with a play on Victoriana for puffy, ribboned sleeves and volants galore on high, demure collars; lace contrasted with poplin for a crisp, modern feel. Blouses were best when worn underneath midi slip dresses in silk cloque with ruched bodices, or with a black draped viscose number for a sensual yet restrained effect. Elsewhere, Scognamiglio indulged his penchant for romantic prints and baroque finishes, as in a short dress in jacquard fil coupe with floral motifs, which he injected with a tougher feel by way of a black leather bodice encrusted with see-through lace. As the saying goes, you cannot keep the wolf away from the lamb.
