Alain Delon’s wardrobe in René Clément’s Plein Soleil, from the Patricia Highsmith story The Talented Mr. Ripley, was the basis of this handsome Boglioli collection. There were a couple of very literal nods to that movie here, including a K jacket re-creation of the blazer in regimental stripes that is an emblem of Ripley’s sinister appropriation of Greenleaf’s identity (and wardrobe). More broadly this was a collection of light and luxurious, mostly tailored, pieces that would be a pleasure to wear whether WFH or at leisure on the Amalfi coast, whose colors informed its palette.
Either in Prince of Wales check or in plain-color linen, jersey linen, shantung silk, cotton-silk, wool-silk, and various other fine fabrications, including a sustainability-minded Tencel option, there was a wide array of K jackets, as well as the slim-fit pants to complement them. Boglioli’s dyeing process ensures a high level of stretch—without elastane—in many garments, and it is the appearance of structure combined with a free-feeling wear that makes this label so attractive to its many dedicated return buyers.
Here that formula was extended beyond tailoring into some cultured field jackets and a few satisfyingly crunchy garment dyed nylon shirts. There was also a first for the label in a hoodie (garment dyed, again) featuring the Boglioli logo. This, said export manager Paolo Leo, reflected the increasing interest in the brand from customers in the Middle East, which has led to increased department store orders from that region (along with a specific request for logo hoodies).
Like everyone else in Milan right now, Leo and his colleagues are most worried by the apparent implosion of retail in the U.S. However as Leonardo Brugiatelli (marketing) observed as this appointment drew to a close, a first-quarter rise in online sales for Boglioli that almost entirely compensated for the coronavirus-consequence first-quarter loss in brick-and-mortar sales has represented some kind of upside. Whether it’s in your work clothes or your working philosophy, flexibility rules right now: And if you can look even a little like Delon in his pomp while adapting to now, then why not?
