When Dennis Basso was imagining his Pre-Fall 2019 collection, he dreamed up an image of a powerful, independent woman. The designer pictured her going from “the boardroom to the ballroom.” He saw her as someone hungry, determined, but also unapologetically glamorous. The resulting garments ticked all of the boxes that a real-life power lady might have on her wardrobe wish list: modern silhouettes, unique fabrication, decadent flair. There was a cropped leather jacket trimmed in mink, a leather pencil skirt with topstitch detail, and a hand-embroidered houndstooth crepe cocktail dress. Basso was particularly excited about the latter reimagining of menswear fabric, which could also be seen in the houndstooth pattern on an organza gown and the pinstripe of a wool and lace off-the-shoulder dress.
His signature mink and sable outerwear was of note this season, particularly for the fact that, individually, each of the designs could work for a woman of any age. It’s that feeling of timelessness that’s kept Basso in business for so many years, that and the fact that even though he may have conjured his own power woman this season, she is indeed very real and loves to wear his clothes no matter the occasion.
