“I was thinking about what I’d like to wear in the city after work, but then on vacation too. We are in Italy and we are lucky—we have a whole month off,” said Andrea Pompilio on this sweltering Milanese afternoon. (Everyone in the showroom was daydreaming about his or her upcoming exodus from town—for his particular holiday, Pompilio will jet south to Cape Verde.) The designer’s Spring collection is a contemplation of what one might do if he or she could no longer bear it and had to get out ASAP, hastily packing before heading to Malpensa and buying a ticket to wherever wanderlust beckoned strongest. In expected Pompilion style, though, this wasn’t some slapdash scramble—the designer has a lot going on visually in his clothes, but he’s a sharp editor.
There were: baggy T-shirts with Oaxacan embroideries on the breast pocket (these were standout pieces); sweatshirt-material tops with a giraffe-toile print (these, less so); stringy, inside-out beach-bum jumpers; great bomber jackets with industrial namesake placards (because at the end of every getaway, the city and its working life await); and an enhanced focus on plaids. “I like how they clash,” said Pompilio, holding up a pair of russet-checked “dry cotton” Bermuda shorts against an alternatively schemed shirt. Also, slouchy, multi-tonal denim hit a high note; this was almost like Andrea Pompilio’s interpretation of Inherent Vice. Think: a hybrid of faded ’70s, half-baked beach vibes blended with his de facto Italian polish and idiosyncrasy. It wasn’t necessarily the best trip ever, but it was enough to make this writer reconsider his next resort wardrobe.
