N°21 SPRING SUMMER 2016 WOMEN’S COLLECTION – MILAN FASHION WEEK

CONTRAST IMAGES

Levity, joy, carnality, passion, sensuousness. An unbound expression of imagination results in a totally fresh take on nonchalance, complete with a greater sense of awareness and very much of an edgy allure. In no way casual or off-hand. Quite the contrary, reflecting every woman’s unique and individual will.

Drawing upon influences from and re-elaborations of shots by Corinne Day (photographer who documented the forces and impulses of the ‘90s) and by the beautiful, eccentric Tina Modotti (who upset and nullified Latin American folk concepts with her Leica), Alessandro Dell’Acqua gives definition to the No. 21 spring-summer 2016 collection by making use of a creative process performed in a dark room where the images are inverted, overlapped and reworked through a concept of fashion coming forth as a tool for interpreting modern life.

It’s an unusual and coherent collection at once offering surprising twists & turns and confirming the signature style of a designer who, in pursuit of an exquisitely contemporary aesthetic, is always open to a re-evaluation of objectives.

So the ever favorite masculine/feminine mix finds strong renewal in the T-shirts worn under chiffon slip-dresses or lovely lace frocks, in the caban with passementerie and pom-pom trim, in the cady dresses with reams of ruffles plus pairing with a white shirt, in the textural contrast between coarse linen skirt and smooth crepe de chine blouse, in the deconstructed shirt draped dress.

Echoing this theme is a new sensuality that comes through in the macramé dresses in soft pastel shades, in the crepe pinafore, in the cotton lace dresses with chantilly lace overlay, in the floral print pajama-suits or floral skirt suit with upholstery passementerie edging, and in the sensually draped melange knit dresses.

All interconnects in the poplin jumpsuits ending in a top where folk-style embroidery takes on a smart Victorian slant; and also in the cupro outfits, in the tank tops and skirts made with strips of python leather, and in the graceful shoes presenting tribal-type decors and pretty pom-poms while at the same time uniting quite seriously with plain cotton kneesocks and/or with elongated severity-elegance totes.

These overlapping images of today’s many forms of femininity are framed with discreet strass tiaras that playfully vanish when they turn into sunglasses featuring ultra novel shapes and volumes all while entrusting the sparkle of eyes to the chromatic glints of the metal inserts of lenses.

So becoming metaphors for the lenses that Alessandro Dell’Acqua utilized to filter the images appropriated by his own life vision and experience and that in this No. 21 collection he transformed into seductive contrasts between emotions instrumental in writing original stories.

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Tags: N°21, N°21 SS 2016, SPRING SUMMER WOMEN 2016

N°21 SPRING SUMMER 2015 WOMEN’S COLLECTION – MILANO FASHION WEEK

Bourgeois punk, bohemian DIY.

Alessandro Dell’Acqua pursues an experimental crossover path, subverting the rules and forever perfecting his own amazing fashion vision where wickedly provocative spirit and practical put-together mood surging with dissonant elements only on the surface translate into an easy spontaneous idea of elegance.

The force of character is in the open and blatant expressions of friction, the liveliness of mind in the disdain for conventional concepts and chains of command. All against the backdrop of an exquisitely Italian taste for luscious colors and materials, the pure pleasure of sensuous sophistication.

The collection puts a strong cut-up slant on construction, dovetailing pragmatic facets and luxurious effects, playing with and contradicting mere appearances. Army/couture, opulent/functional, daytime/evening, masculine/feminine, severe/sensual take turns setting a clear agenda, yet always complying with instinctive impulses, a free and fanciful aesthetic flair very much about natural desires, scarcely about thought processes.

Precious stones define pins on ladylike pullovers, trace utilitarian slings on mannish organza shirts, dot edgings on long skirts. Nothing is what it seems: little blouse & skirt combos are actually dresses, the military topcoat finds a smart new identity in dress form.

Everything has a special glow: bright sequins make a lavish statement on macramé skirts and jackets, embroidery designs capture all the fun of surrealistic art. High rise pants with a boyish appeal alternate with short top & lace skirt ensembles, tartan patterns come in multiples on organza.

The vertical silhouette’s fulcrum point is the waist, with sturdy stone-encrusted and cabochon-studded leather belts heightening the impact. Non-stretch fabrics (Mackintosh cotton, organza, cigaline, jute cloths) vary in weight while also capitalizing on a gorgeous palette of blush pink, vivid green, khaki, tan and black shades with hints of red.

Lastly, shoes throw the season’s image off balance and re-establish equlibriums, as in the surreal duchesse mules with big bows in rich wine, green and mustard hues.

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Tags: N°21, N°21 SS 2015, SPRING SUMMER WOMEN 2015

N°21 SPRING SUMMER 2015 MEN’S COLLECTION – MILANO FASHION WEEK

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Tags: N°21, N°21 SS 2015, SPRING SUMMER MEN 2015

N°21 FALL WINTER 2014-15 WOMEN’S COLLECTION – MILANO FASHION WEEK

A delightful quirkiness, a fresh spontaneity: the funky defiance of conventions that comes from dressing according to instinct, bypassing the thought process. Glam! Slam! This season Alessandro Dell’Acqua plays with the coolest of codes, tweaks and subverts the rules by inviting a tomboy to the ball.

Taken by surprise, she promptly puts her ingenuity to work and invents a wardrobe all of her own. Pure fusion mode, so elevating the collage style to precise and brilliant art form. Joints and intersections forgo discretion, make a perfectly strong statement, as the true source of energy in today’s fashion universe is dissonant friction.

Multiple interplays of day/evening, mannish/feminine, severe/opulent moods find inspiration in the here & now, not in any glossy otherworld. It’s real life with a touch of magic. Embroidery gives the thick army flair pullover an amazing sheen. Feather inlays and sequin damier motifs add a special dash to the sides of the sleek simple dress and the smart cut-off trousers.

The shetland sweater makes a wicked match with the sumptuous skirt. The lavish ultrawarm wrap blooms dazzlingly with roses. All-time favorites from basic polo to boyish topcoat get down to essentials. By contrast, materials and working techniques are rich and precious, the sharp silhouette constantly offset by some startling element.

As in the array of dual-impact items: coats creating oppositions between elegantly intact front and fabulously decorative back, otherwise presenting unique mixes of fabric and fur; the knit sweater shading imaginatively toward a sheer swingy skirt; the polo taking new shape in embroidered velvet or simply morphing into a dress.

What sets the tone is an idea of freedom and naturalness, an unabashed sense of instinct with a deliciously personal twist. Voluptuous materials – wools, velvets, mohairs – come in a palette of classic black, gray, camel, khaki hues with iridescent red and turquoise sequin brights.

Accessories have fun with the upbeat/offbeat spirit: Chelsea boots with cabochon rich elastics, pointy toe ballerinas in dapple effect or high gloss leather, thick heel pumps with clip decors.

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Tags: FALL WINTER WOMEN 2014-15, N°21, N°21 FW 2014-15

N°21 FALL WINTER 2014 MEN’S COLLECTION – PITTI IMMAGINE UOMO

Clothes expressly for a fashion-alert individual very much aware of his own style identity.
That’s the concept behind the N°21 collection this season.

Twenty-one looks where eclectic taste meets bourgeois equilibrium, classic and sporty moods intersect, the men’s wardrobe finds points of interest in the women’s. And details play with a fanciful sense of surprise.

Doublebreasted coats, parkas, duffel-coats, aviator jackets. Pants the sleek slimfit way, sweatshirts and jaspé sweaters in unusual yarns.

Prints drawing inspiration from decorative arts and classic upholstery fabrics: all for hunting-scene failles, toile de jouy cotton poplins. Shirts, sweats and tees with a Pop Art flair. Flannels in plaid and check patterns.

Classic, reassuring colors sweeping from camel to cadet green. And then navy blue, sky blue, melange gray and black with bright touches of hunter red.

An equestrian spirit for prints and for embroidery and/or micro sequin designs on sweatshirts and bomber jackets. Alpine socks with gorgeous ornamental stitching.

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Tags: FALL WINTER MEN 2014-15, N°21, N°21 FW 2014-15, Pitti Immagine

BACKSTAGE N°21 SPRING SUMMER 2014 WOMEN’S COLLECTION – MILANO FASHION WEEK

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Tags: BACKSTAGE, N°21, N°21 SS 2014, SPRING SUMMER WOMEN 2014

N°21 SPRING SUMMER 2014 WOMEN’S COLLECTION – MILANO FASHION WEEK

N°21 © Copyright 2013

Spring-Summer 2014

Exotic languor creates the mood for journeys which while possibly just imaginary leave indelible traces.

As a classic designer with a quiet iconoclastic verve, Alessandro Dell’Acqua needs only to read subtle shifts, sudden and decisive accords to scatter the cards and capture a high-class seditious flair.

This season he works around the idea of vacation. It’s a keen all-encompassing urge, liberating sensation of freedom, ideal state of the soul where an acute and compelling desire for some faroff dimension takes shape and ultimately identifies a cool sleek style.

The starting point is a bourgeois wardrobe, an unwavering concentrate of pure precision and effective elegance with crisp, constant, erotic tension between masculine and feminine setting the tone.

The clothes are archetypal: assertive coats and jackets, short-sleeve bowling shirts, clean cropped blouses tops & knits, minis and knee-skimming pencil skirts, smart little dresses and perfectly creased pants.

All is in place, as is nothing at all, for precious embroideries mimic smudges on tennis shirts, notch patterns embellish solid examples of tailoring with hibiscus flower outlines, skirts dematerialize and morph into lingerie concepts or in alternative present lavish stitching.

Outfits with a soft sophisticated pajama feel reflect the carefree ease of home living, mannish boxer shorts add a fresh touch to nearly every ensemble.

Gorgeous prints and jacquard designs, wonderful expressions of stylized exoticism imbue the new wardrobe ever in motion with a timeless allure even as the flashes of intuition typical of a vacation spirit upset the established order of things from one moment to the next.

Fabrics and such (duchesse satin, heavy cotton, doubleface leather, laser-cut lace, Oxford cloth, poplin) feature full rich textures while colors (dark blue, black, jungle green, python brown, white, blush/powder/nude tones) are moist and mellow.

Lastly, ornamental elements mark the season’s accessories – slipper style flats, chunky high-heel sandals, tulle stockings – with a discreet opulence.

This faroff dimension becomes the magnificent backdrop for a mode of dress decorously free of rules.

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Tags: N°21, N°21 SS 2014, SPRING SUMMER WOMEN 2014

BACKSTAGE N°21 FW 2013-14 WOMEN’S COLLECTION – MILANO FASHION WEEK

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Tags: BACKSTAGE, FALL WINTER WOMEN 2013-14, N°21, N°21 FW 2013-14

N°21 FALL WINTER 2013-14 WOMEN’S COLLECTION – MILANO FASHION WEEK

N°21© Copyright 2013

The cult of perfection is paralyzing. Error – deliberate, maddening – sparks action and generates motion.

At once seditious and above reproach, Alessandro Dell’Acqua plays at scattering the cards all while keeping his cool. Now his signature flair for opposites, liberating love of clashing forces, intensifies to a point bordering on outré. Against a backdrop of severity elegance. Fascinated by the pure precision of the bourgeois wardrobe, where male items define the essence of practicality, he makes clear shifts, subverts the rules, tempts fate yet stays within classic chic boundaries. Setting the tone is the quiet tension between masculine and feminine.

Rich & rough, daytime & evening, expansive & concise are intermingling and overlapping concepts. The sheepskin duffel-coat mimics a fur. The fireman jacket takes on a lustrous glint. The grunge style goes classy as flannel shirt and macro-check knit offset a deep slit skirt with gorgeous floral sequin trim and a glittery pullover pairs off with sharply creased and freshly cuffed pants (showing thick crystal-encrusted hose underneath). In pursuit of a dynamic balance, sleek coats and slim pants counteract the excessive elegance of tops casting a glance at couture. Offbeats notes – Swarovski crystals and jets edging the breast pocket on a mannish shirt, gold bands hiding discreetly in the lining – enter the picture and characterize the scene. Accessories set in motion a conversation between gentleman & gentlewoman all about cabochon crystal-studded heel penny loafers, spike heel moccasins and ladylike chain-strap clutch bags.

Luscious fabrics: gazar, nylon, flannel, viyella, lace, crepe de chine, dry wool. Bourgeois chic colors: beige, camel, white, poudre, sky blue. Plus unusual hints of metallic hues.

Order and disorder exchange places, while somewhere between apparent errors and artful provocations today’s exciting contradictions find energy and come to the fore.

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Tags: FALL WINTER WOMEN 2013-14, N°21, N°21 FW 2013-14

N°21 SPRING SUMMER 2013 WOMEN’S COLLECTION – MILANO FASHION WEEK

N°21 © Copyright 2012

Spring-Summer 2013
This is opulence seen through the irreverent eyes of the Tumblr generation. Images clash, intersect the liberating energy of unknown inflections.
Playing freely with opposites, Alessandro Dell’Acqua takes the art of contradiction to new heights where it explodes with perfect aplomb. Couture-level materials and stylistic features collide with the rules for a practical urban wardrobe, so defining a fresh concept of classics. Quietly offbeat.
Iridescent, pixel mode. Every item has all the pieces both totally in and out of place, ergo the organza T-shirt has fun with color blocks and the charmeuse sweatshirt presents tone-on-tone cabochon-trim sleeves.
As atelier and street engage in a mutually enticing dialogue, one skirt turns sumptuous thanks to crystal and aluminum-cap paillette embroidery and the white vinyl-back trucker jacket makes an ideal match with a skirt in lace. Following the logic of a fanciful shifting in & out of position, the language of eloquence takes on a pop tinge, while natural and artificial flirt back & forth.
End-result? Vestal virgins dance in the silicone print on the duchesse skirt, colorful python inlays create a postmodern damier pattern on very simple skirts and Ts. A sense of graphic composition forms the backdrop as every element fits into a precise design. Shapes are archetypal: mannish short-sleeve shirts, structurally simple tops and sweaters, knee-skimming pencil skirts, comfortable finely creased pants. Meantime, the ever ongoing conversation between masculine and feminine sparks a perceptible tension that’s crisp, erotic, seductive.

Materials are full, rich, supple and firm: silk duchesse and satin, brocade, lace, snakeskin, vinyl, crepe. Colors make a classic statement offset by flashes of brights: white, blue, aqua, magenta, nude and flesh tones.

Accessories include duchesse & Plexiglas slingback pumps, strappy Roman sandals in galuchat leather, boxy clutch bags with a military flair.

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Tags: BACKSTAGE, N°21, N°21 SS 2013, SPRING SUMMER WOMEN 2013