It’s no secret that le charme discret de la bourgeoisie keeps Alessandro Dell’Acqua glamorous. “I love how they make rules only to break them a minute later,” he joked. This spirit of disobedience has been built into his collection from the beginning, and he doesn’t intend to ditch it anytime soon. Quite the opposite. His menswear collection is an ode to the classic bourgeois wardrobe, revisited with a gentle twist of disobedience.
His irreverent target was the pastel uniform of the ladies of Old World Milan, the cashmere doublet, often worn with a brooch as a sign of wealth and status. For fall, Dell’Acqua made room in No. 21’s men’s wardrobe for a modified version of middle-class women’s staples, with multiple moves between the eccentric and the conventional. iterations. Two-piece pullovers in gray Shetland wool, felted cashmere, leopard-print mohair, or covered in liquid nude sequins lend a romantic edge with crushed chiffon rosettes appliquéd on the shoulders or multiple silver brooches in the shape of scorpions. neckline.
The atmosphere is lazy and a bit decadent. “I think of the boy in his chrysalis—no longer a child, but not yet an adult,” said Dell’Acqua, whose muse for the series is Visconti Death in Venice fame. White crepe de chine petticoats with trailing bow ties, poplin shirts with Chantilly lace inlets, and feather boas peeking from the lapels of softly tailored coats all reflected the designer’s tender examination of masculinity.
Tailored suits and wardrobe classics such as trench coats, coats and pea coats are treated with the same gentleness; volume doesn’t boast any of it, Dell’Acqua explains Extra wide shoulders, but “normal proportions, beautifully crafted, very elegantly executed”. “I’m a little bit into street style trends, or anything for that matter. I’m just following my own rules and breaking them whenever I feel like it.”
