As long as designers like Andrea Adamo walk the earth, high-wattage body-con dressing will never die. Ditto the whole arsenal that glorifies a potent idea of femininity—Amazonian armor in the form of oversized leather bikers, strong-shouldered power suits, and sultry numbers revealing ample expanses of bare skin. Severe minimalism certainly doesn’t move the needle of Adamo’s almost visceral love for fashion that’s hot, womanly, and erotically charged.
Unfazed by trends, he stuck to his guns for spring. “I don’t care,” he said backstage before today’s show. “I want to build my brand around my own beliefs and a strong identity.” He sent out a collection confident enough to leave no doubt about the direction he’s taking.
Masculine tailoring flirting with the erotic was how he got his message across. Cinch-waisted, broad-shouldered blazers worn over slouchy cargos played against second-skin, neck-plunging ribbed Henleys borrowed from the boys and elongated into dresses rendered in shades of nude. Ribbons of stretch jersey gave shape to tight-fitting strapless dresses or ultratight pencil skirts, while a knitted stitched jersey, called an “X-ray” for its see-through properties, outlined provocative, curvy silhouettes. Likewise, sheer gossamer tulle was draped and folded into body-hugging nude minidresses worn over leggings. Adamo definitely doesn’t design for wallflowers.
One of Adamo’s favorite muses is the singer Mina, whose magnetic, stirring voice was on the soundtrack. “Her mystery, fierceness, and strength represent what I like in a woman,” he said. Not surprisingly, she is known as the “Tiger of Cremona,” after the city in northern Italy from which she hails.
