Lorenzo Serafini cast Noonoouri, the CGI “influencer” with 215,000 Instagram followers to costar in his Pre-Fall lookbook. If you’ve never heard of her, it’s safe to say you’re too old for a good part of this collection.
As digitally savvy as designers and their marketing teams are required to be in 2019, Serafini actually took his cues from another kind of influencer this season, the analog supermodels of the ’90s, and their pre-selfie-era club clothes. Twenty years from now, will people look back at pictures of Noonoouri with the wistful nostalgia that Serafini’s vintage pics of Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell inspire today? Can a CGI invention retain relevance the way “real life” humans do? Will Noonoouri age? One wonders.
The Philosophy designer typically works a romantic vibe, but of late his collections have taken on a harder, sexier edge. That definitely holds true for Pre-Fall. Most looks were paired with fishnets and boots, and the prevailing silhouette was short or tight or both. Anyone in the market for a sexy party dress will find options to spare, from a teeny, asymmetrical slip in ivory lace to a long-sleeve black number strewn with glitter and featuring an open back. Serafini showed a red and black zebra print mini shift with a matching blazer; he’s no slouch in the tailoring department. The most interesting pieces however were sweaters inset with stripes of lace or patches of gold silk thread that captured the grungy sensibility of the decade he was looking at in a completely fresh, novel way. Of course, that’s coming from a woman whose club days are more or less behind her. Noonoouri might beg to disagree.
