Luca Lin and Galib Gassanoff knew they had more eyes watching their spring collection, but they didn’t flinch a bit.
The only result of the support of Maison Valentino — which lent the young designers its Instagram platform for a livestream — was that the duo restated their aesthetic codes with bigger conviction and more intensity.
As a way of welcoming the new, behind-the-screen audience in their world, Lin and Gassanoff opened the show with denim and utilitarian looks, before serving up the theatrical pieces their names are most associated with.
It was a strong start, which balanced commercially approachable items with the duo’s more whimsical and delicate work. In a season when cargo pants are popping up everywhere and becoming dressier — see Fendi’s satin version for most recent reference — Lin and Gassanoff opted for their own, sheer tulle take on the trend, and styled pants with matching multipocketed bombers and field jackets.
As the lineup progressed, under the eyes of Pierpaolo Piccioli, too, the collection revealed the personal link to Lin’s heritage via prints nodding to the traditional Chinese opera, which were splashed on fluid pajama sets, tank tops and billowing kimonos. A collaboration with Casio that saw the brand’s watches used as embroideries introduced a more experimental edge.
And then came the wow-factor. Borderline couture, exaggerated tulle pieces paraded with their sculpture-like shapes, ranging from cocooning to hyper graphic structures.
If this was the first impression of Act N.1 for many, it was a good one.
