Following up a remarkable debut can prove challenging, especially for a young designer whose first collection landed with a bang. Daniel Del Core’s was the talk of the town at Milan Fashion Week in February. Today he presented his second outing, a physical show held in the vast spaces of Palazzo del Ghiaccio (Ice Palace), which was transformed into a sort of mirrored shrine, polished to a silvery blinding gloss.
The choice of setting seemed counterintuitive, given the organic, metamorphic, mutant theatricality of Del Core’s creations. His inspiration comes from nature and its most elusive and mysterious creatures—fungi, algae, orchids, rare plant species he finds in the often remote places he likes to travel to. On a recent trip to Costa Rica, he trekked to an ancient rain forest covered in moss and shrouded in thick clouds. “It was so calming, so preternaturally serene, almost mystical,” he said during a preview at his atelier. While this evanescence was captivating, he was also drawn to explore a tougher counterpoint: “I wanted to break that purity with something loud, more raw and rough,” he said.
Del Core referenced the world of Japanese techno as a sort of visual antidote to the voluminous, airy constructions he favors. Massive shiny platforms anchored imaginative couture concoctions, entirely handmade in his atelier by his team of young tailors and seamstresses: “I’m at my most happy when I can actually work on a dress; I love the craft, the meticulous sartorial work in the atelier,” he said. There was certainly no shortage of beautifully made showstoppers in the collection: an imposing yet sinuous number in white chiffon printed in delicate ramages edged in undulating ruffled fans; a majestic cape-dress entirely covered in absinthe green sequins and punctuated with frills; a pale pink kimono with a long train, hand-embroidered with a whimsical herbarium. They will look spectacular on any red carpet.
Counterbalancing the theatrical, a series of light, feminine dresses in chiffon printed in abstract florals was energized by plays of ruffles, plissé inserts, trailing ribbons, and asymmetrical hems and worn under ample fluid trench coats. They made for a dynamic, vital gesture. Del Core certainly has range.
