Alessandro Dell’Acqua is allergic to categorizations dictated by the mainstream. “Sportswear was everywhere until a few seasons ago, now it’s up to tailoring to become ubiquitous,” he said at a showroom appointment. “For menswear, this rings even more true.”
It’s a fact that sartorial choices seem to be inescapable today, with suits of many shapes and sizes available across the fashion latitudes. To avoid a too obvious rendition of the trend without denying its wardrobe impact, Dell’Acqua touched on tailoring only tangentially, while applying its rules of construction to more relaxed staples. Bowling shirts, varsity jackets, twin sets, and Fair Isle jumpers were designed to look like trompe l’oeil but were in fact not, the idea was to treat casual clothes in a more elevated way.
Dell’Acqua’s take on menswear is gentle; here, he added discreet yet perceptible sensual touches to the boxy shapes of poplin shirts and to the woolly textures of oversized sweaters. Dark florals were printed onto lambswool twin sets, metallic sequins embroidered comforting cardis, and broderie Anglaise added a sweet touch to necklines. Elsewhere, the tweed of a boxy cropped jacket was woven with gold threads and palm trees decorated openwork tank tops. The rigidity of formalwear was smoothed, giving the collection’s few suits an attitude of soft, almost feminine nonchalance. “I’m really not up for sartorial propaganda,” he said.
