Anita Pallenberg, rock muse nonpareil, died last year at 75; it was only a matter of time for a designer to dedicate a collection to what was once described as her “evil glamour.” Lorenzo Serafini is just the man for the job. The Philosophy creative director often bases his collections on stylish beauties from eras past: Brooke Shields, Elizabeth Taylor, and Margaux Hemingway have inspired his recent collections. This time around he said he wanted to evoke the feeling that Pallenberg and other clotheshorses created with their outfits, like “everything was found somewhere else.”
He did well by that standard. Sometimes when designers talk about the past, they inject the caveat “but updated and modernized for today.” It’s a way of hedging their bets, and it can lead to “safe,” watered-down results. Serafini is a true believer. His ’70s high-waisted flares look and feel authentically ’70s in a sturdy red denim. In a saturated jeans market, they’ll stand out. Silk twill dresses in Indian paisleys likewise look like they could’ve been picked up in some far-flung bazaar, timeless treasures that prove that the simplest shapes often age best. A leopard-print velvet coat was another highlight. The nods to the late 2010s included the logo sweatshirts—obvious but unavoidable; they sell like crazy—and a cool pinstriped linen pantsuit because tailoring is trending, even at a label best known for its frocks. The most delightful bit of news coming out of the collection was the arrival of a “mommy and me” little girls’ capsule. Serafini is about to turn on a fresh new generation of dress lovers.
