MFW Field Notes

A few notes I’ve jotted down while watching the collections from the comfort of home.

A few housekeeping notes before we dive in:

• On Tuesday at 3PM I’ll be chatting with Chanel Tyler about all things Substack. You can sign up to join the conversation here.

• I’m also starting to contribute to WhoWhatWear, and you can read my first story here.

• You can shop my fall edit here, which includes these new pointy flats from Margaux, this Prada-esque satin pouch from Sophie Buhai, these gold tone pave crystal earrings from the J.Crew x Khiry collab, and more!

Notes from the Milan runways

• Versace was fab imho. For a sliver of the internet that cares about the comings and goings of what is colloquially called fashion month… you either loved or hated Versace… I was of course the former.

  

  The Versace show notes read more like a letter to a lover than the usual “the designer was inspired by yada yada yada.”

  

  One of my favorite looks from the show, I’m especially a big fan of the shoes designed by Trevor Houston of The Row, Khaite, and Herbert Levine fame.

  

  Another favorite of mine riffs on a Gianni Versace design from the early 80s (I think 81 or 82… I couldn’t find the Avedon photo). Much of the collection felt like an ode to Gianni’s legacy rather than to what Donatella later brought to the brand.

  

  I personally loved the wrap skirts or the dresses that seemed to barely hold up, thus showing the undies (which made me think of the La Apparel ones that come in a variety of colors).

  

  I’m also obsessed with these robes with the older Medusa….I’m now hunting for one.

  To give some context on why Dario Vitale’s debut may not have landed with everyone: he came from Miu Miu, where he worked closely with Lotta Volkova, so naturally some people expected Miu Miu with Versace prints layered on top. And to be fair, there were definite Miu Miu-isms (cardigans, sweaters tied around the waist, chainmail bras and skirts styled, the layering). Other labels tossed at the collection included “80s,” sometimes said with disdain and sometimes with approval. Some people felt it lack the typical Versace sexiness, and some people felt it stayed in line with the brands ethos (A BOF headline read,“Versace’s New Designer Knows Good Sex”). There’s also a rumor circulating that he may face the same fate as Ludovic de Saint Sernin at Ann Demeulemeester and be a one-and-done designer (hopefully that’s all it is, a rumor). Needless to say, there’s a flurry of opinions and talking heads around this collection. I’m of the school of thought that it’s harder to accept something truly new because the eye has to adjust. In many ways I feel like Dario’s Versace may have a kind of Prada effect, where the first reaction is repulsion that eventually softens into admiration. Time will tell.

  Power to the chocolate brown cord pant

  As I’ve said when talking about Michael Rider’s Celine (and the two debuts do feel like they exist in conversation, particularly in their use of color clashes and silhouettes), there’s an 80s sensibility bubbling up. It is not the stark, chrome, drug-addled Boom Aesthetic, but something more preppy, and in many ways, queerer. Vitale is also fortunate to have access not only to the archives of clothing and accessories, but to the images themselves. If you own any of the great Versace tomes such as Do Not Disturb, Men Without Ties, or Rock and Royalty, you could feel their influence running through the collection.

  What strikes me about the world Dario has built is that it’s still an homage to the past, but also a proposition for the future, not only for the brand but for queer imagery itself. Queerness in the visual vernacular has so often been boiled down to red-hot sex, and don’t get me wrong, there’s plenty of that in his work and in the images he published leading up to the debut. But at the same time he nudges at a feeling that’s been largely forgotten, the thing that ultimately leads to the dance with the devil: desire.

  In this era of get-it-when-I-want-it, how-I-want-it, we’ve lost the embrace of the build-up, the mystery. In those 75 looks, with the peek-a-boo skirts and cinched, unbuttoned leather pants, the ladylike bags and embellished vests, I think he struck a perfect balance. I loved what he said about mythology beginning when the gods grew bored on Olympus and started toying with people, how Gianni Versace more or less dressed the gods, and how he wanted to dress the people. And even if few real people will be able to afford to participate in Dario’s vision, it’s reassuring to know there’s someone thinking about the cravings of people rather than just the suits and ties.

• We’ve reached peak chic. Last week

  laura reilly
  posted this note…