The atmosphere at Haider Ackermann’s show was a little more charged than normal this morning. Chalk that up to the combined presence of both Tilda Swinton and Kristin Scott Thomas or to the fact that Ackermann was recently named the new creative director of Berluti—the LVMH-owned menswear label. He makes his debut there in January of next year. How might his suddenly much-busier schedule affect his own line?
Backstage he gave a succinct précis: “order and chaos.” Ackermann is known for his draping and wrapping, but he’s been moving away from those signatures for seasons. Spring marks a complete break. Save for a couple of coats spilling off of the shoulder, the tailoring was quite exacting. His high-waisted, closely-fitted pants require two kinds of rigor: on the part of the designer and on the razor thin woman who will wear them. Jackets were cut with horizontal slices removed from the midriff, and, on at least one occasion, with the back scooped out. The blood-spatter jacquard used for the tailoring—not grisly like it sounds—was the chaos part of his equation.
Ackermann’s news came in the form of Miyake-style pleats. They’re one of the season’s most obvious trends; he made them his own with a ravishing shade of metallic chartreuse, seen on a long, loose-fit plissé tank dress and pant suit. “Paradise birds on acid,” was his poetic—not to mention spot-on—description of a color palette that also included electric yellow, bright orange, pink, lavender, gold, and copper. He’s always had a gorgeous way with color. Slogan T-shirts that read “Be Your Own Hero” and “Silent Soldier” were more unexpected. Though he’s not the only designer to put them on the runway this week (see yesterday’s Dior show), they were the outliers in a collection that was entirely persuasive without them.
