Having catapulted Blumarine in just three seasons from dusty oblivion to the starry firmament of hot fashion brands, creative director Nicola Brognano seemed to be catching his breath this season. But only just a little. “I hate when designers keep repeating themselves,” he said. “It doesn’t excite me in the least. So, I don’t even think about resting, even if I must say that at Blumarine we’ve been the first to fuel the craze for the 2000s and put them back on the map.” No arguing with that.
For the throngs of Blumarine TikTokers out there, not to worry. Brognano won’t be ending his tour of the 2000s anytime soon. “It’s a territory I feel very confident exploring,” said the designer, who was born in 1990 and thus is quite knowledgeable on the matter. So, apart from the Paris-Britney-Lindsay trifecta, who’s the new high-wattage 2000s muse? “Gisele Bündchen,” he answered. “Gisele was stratospheric, gorgeousness incarnate, she still is. That sexiness brasileira. Who’s the woman who doesn’t want to be her, yesterday, today, or tomorrow?”
The thing is, the Blumarine girl isn’t such a naughty teenager anymore: “She doesn’t sit in her bedroom combing her hair in front of the mirror listening to Shakira or Beyoncé,” Brognano said. “Now she wants to get out of the house, basta.” Teenager or not, she’s very much the agent provocateur. Enveloped in a flame-red cashmere fur with a leopard-print lining, worn over a flame-red tightly draped miniskirt not wider than a belt, and a matching ribbed brassiere, she’s ready to stop traffic the minute she bids goodbye to her bedroom.
Brognano isn’t giving up on sexy, that’s for sure. For pre-fall, he provided variations on the theme: plenty of exposed midriffs, bare legs, and alluring décolletage options. He also upped the dramatic ante a notch. Tight cargo pants were cut in pink, low-slung bell bottoms were made in brash golden leather; stretchy, drapey, slinky minidresses with asymmetrical, slashed hems were rendered in both black and “mean florals.” Glamorous faux furs in icy white were printed with a lynx spot, giving off a luxurious, sexy vibe.
But…where’s the Blumarine butterfly? Why no new version of the sold-out, widely copied embroidered butterfly top that had celebs queuing for preorder last season? Brognano promised, “we’ll see her soon, twirling again somewhere around a Blumarine girl.”
