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published on Monday, 21 September
Antonio Berardi is the British-Sicilian designer whose return to London after years spent showing in Paris has warmed the hearts of many a patriot this season.
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Not attracted to the buzz of the BFC tent, he took his show to a Grade I listed church in Mayfair and had models strut down the aisle with enough flesh on display to make a vicar blush.
Scenic as it is, St. Mark’s was obviously not designed with fashion worship in mind, and those of us in the lower echelons of the industry were thrust way up into the wings, where a bird’s eye view had to suffice, but at least it was an ambient one.
“Hints of armour,” “heroic seduction,” “stretch denim reality.” These laconic notes on the show’s press release suggest Berardi is a man of quality over quantity and certainly his short, sheer, bodycon dresses and subtly structured jackets aired a simple, unfussy but highly refined style.
“A boyfriend’s oversized silk blazer for good measure” took the edge off what could have been a very austere collection; as did the implication of “the Emperor’s new encrusted clothes,” in the form of glittering panels attached to sheath like slips.
Colours too, were cited, and played out in the catwalk like a spectrum: “chalk, stone, slate, pitch, cornflower, electric, sunset.”
Berardi claims to be excited by music and enlisted the talent of Pablo Clements and U.N.K.L.E’s James Lavelle to create a unique, dynamic soundtrack that began, fittingly, like ecclesiastical break-beat.
The mise en scène of Berardi’s much anticipated show was ultimately more enjoyable than the clothes themselves. After all, when is a church not more interesting to look at than the inside of tent? But while the garments were tailored, sculpted and styled to perfection, they lacked the excitement you’d expect from a promising fusion of English craftsmanship and Sicilian vivacity.
Scenic as it is, St. Mark’s was obviously not designed with fashion worship in mind, and those of us in the lower echelons of the industry were thrust way up into the wings, where a bird’s eye view had to suffice, but at least it was an ambient one.
“Hints of armour,” “heroic seduction,” “stretch denim reality.” These laconic notes on the show’s press release suggest Berardi is a man of quality over quantity and certainly his short, sheer, bodycon dresses and subtly structured jackets aired a simple, unfussy but highly refined style.
“A boyfriend’s oversized silk blazer for good measure” took the edge off what could have been a very austere collection; as did the implication of “the Emperor’s new encrusted clothes,” in the form of glittering panels attached to sheath like slips.
Colours too, were cited, and played out in the catwalk like a spectrum: “chalk, stone, slate, pitch, cornflower, electric, sunset.”
Berardi claims to be excited by music and enlisted the talent of Pablo Clements and U.N.K.L.E’s James Lavelle to create a unique, dynamic soundtrack that began, fittingly, like ecclesiastical break-beat.
The mise en scène of Berardi’s much anticipated show was ultimately more enjoyable than the clothes themselves. After all, when is a church not more interesting to look at than the inside of tent? But while the garments were tailored, sculpted and styled to perfection, they lacked the excitement you’d expect from a promising fusion of English craftsmanship and Sicilian vivacity.
