For Fall 2017, Redemption’s creative director, Gabriele Moratti, made his political feelings glaringly clear. Down the runway came Victoria’s Secret babe Sara Sampaio wearing a metallic taffeta ruffled miniskirt and a T-shirt printed with President Trump’s portrait, his eyes and mouth covered by the words, “God save the drama queen.” Moratti is, by all accounts, woke. It should also be noted that the Italy-based Redemption gives 50 percent of its profits from each collection to charity, mainly the amfAR organization. It's admirable that Moratti aims to balance the sexiness and luxe-factor of his clothes with causes he deeply believes in.
Often, though, as was the case in this morning’s preview of Redemption’s Resort 2018 collection, the call to resistance doesn’t exactly measure up to the overall aesthetic of the brand. Moratti explained via a FaceTime call from Europe that he wanted to reflect in the clothes his feelings of despair with the current state of the world, citing grunge bands like Nirvana as his main source of inspiration. He accomplished this mainly with a billowy paisley dress topped with a green military jacket and accessorized with leather moto boots. Then he got into a Patti Smith vibe with button-up silk blouses, smoking jackets, and ultra-skinny leather pants and ripped jeans. Redemption’s m.o., design-wise, is to appeal to a cohort of party girls with deep pockets (if there were pockets on the lovely, barely there floral-print slip dresses). But nonetheless, Moratti had some covetable separates in his resort offering, and even if his genuine passion for activism wasn’t reflected in the lace-up short shorts or tiger-print tops, it’s the thought that really counts.
