Eli Russell Linnetz premiered this Paris-presented collection from afar, having had to return home to L.A. earlier than planned to take a meeting about a movie project. So we connected over WhatsApp. True to this designer’s directorial process, the collection was built as costume for a movie he had scripted to reflect his preoccupations and observations of the moment.
The story was a revenge drama played out between American and non-American classmates at some swanky Swiss international finishing school, in which its female protagonist delivered merry seductive hell into the lives of the arrogant entitled bros who had instinctively disregarded her. Entitled The Void, this vehicle allowed Linnetz to both satirize and reprise so-called old money style. “I really started looking at the codes of luxury. Both in how people with real money dress versus how people who want to imitate those with money dress," he said.
The first and last looks showed our narrator wearing garments built to replicate censor bars, in order to frame the un-redacted testimony within. We saw our bros wearing parodic, crested preppy polos, crimson cricket sweaters and varsity jackets, and some technicolor check tailoring. Two looks were double-sweatered, draping a sleeve-tied cable-knit around the shoulders above a worn argyle: overkill. Another knit sweater featured lettering that crowed about its expense and hand-washed fragility.
Entering a more grown-up phase, the looks graduated towards vaguely ’80s-volumed, YSL-informed tailoring and evening wear. Long tweed coats with a lushly slubby handle were Linnetz’s own favorite episodes. Dynasty-extravagant jewelry by Tom Binns added hard sparkle. There was plenty of fur, some of it patterned after skunks to fragrance the mood. A Positively Ellyn-esque lurex skirted bubble dress and studiedly formal men’s evening dress pointed towards a climactic bait-and-switch before the redaction set in again.
“I think this was a new exploration, a new territory,” said Linnetz. “For me, there is a sense of whimsy, but it’s also something much more grown-up and harsh. It was fun to play with that. I’m always kind of looking to explore new characters.” The collection was characterful, however this presentation format did little to transmit the story and personalities that shaped it. It’s been 18 months since Linnetz’s American dystopia show at Pitti: the time seems ripe for him to reacquaint his process with the theater of runway and bring his vision more tangibly to life.
