After two shows under his creative direction, designer Alberto Caliri is exiting Missoni, as agreed when the company’s corporate and financial structure recently underwent a few changes. The fall collection, his last for the label where he has worked for more than 20 years as Angela Missoni’s head of design, was consistent with the spring outing’s simplified, reduced approach.
Caliri riffed on his expertise and knowledge of the Missoni codes, offering a streamlined version of its famous graphics and leaving in the background the artsy layered styling that was one of Angela’s mainstays. He kept the look neat and unfussy, indulging in what he called “the harmonious clashes between a bourgeois spirit, elegant and Milanese, and a hip, younger rock attitude.” The theme was reiterated throughout: a black leather biker jacket was worn under a pinstriped masculine blazer; a white patent leather cropped perfecto peeked underneath a knitted chevron coat, thrown nonchalantly over the shoulders. On the same note, a cape in a blown-up fiammato pattern looked cool paired with a zippered motorbike jumpsuit in soft nappa leather.
Knitted wrap coats came in generous, enveloping proportions in various fabrics. Standouts were striped with sequins or woven in rainbow-colored metallic Lurex. “I wanted to give knitwear a lived-in, warm, emotional quality,” said Caliri, referring to the perfect-imperfect techniques he applied to the textures of roomy cashmere jumpers and tank tops, which were felted, cut and left slightly flawed. “To me, they convey the same intimate, familiar feel of wrinkles on a beautiful face.”
