Pictures from the 1990s of Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell, and Linda Evangelista, et al. are irresistible to just about all of us, but none more so than members of the generation who grew up alongside them. Lorenzo Serafini is in that cohort. Backstage, he had photos of the supers and the waifs arrayed on his mood board and gave them credit, along with the designers they were wearing, for making him fall in love with fashion in the first place.
Serafini typically references the ’80s or the ’70s, so this was a shift. It meant much of the soft romance and most, if not all, of the ruffles so associated with his Philosophy label were absent this season. Instead, there were hard edges both literal and figurative. Pants had the straight-leg, mid-rise shape that Helmut Lang put his stamp on, and tuxedo jackets were mannish in their proportions, just this side of oversize. Naturally, there were slip dresses, because nothing says the 1990s quite like slip dresses. A long-sleeved dress in bias-cut white lingerie satin with a lace-trimmed slit was particularly fetching. But most of the lengths were short, short, short. Serafini showed them bare-legged above lace-up, kitten-heel ankle boots.
Bella and the gang looked sexy as all get-out. You could believably see any of them choosing the looks they were wearing for a fun night of parties. The simplicity of the shapes had a lot to do with that. Who wants to be weighed down with encumbering accessories or layers when she goes out dancing? The vegan leather minis and motorcycle jacket were a timely 21st-century touch.
