A year ago, Veronica Etro built her fall collection around the idea of intimate interiors, and referenced that show in explanation of this season. “It’s like that kind of woman is looking outside the window to see what’s happening on the street,” Etro said backstage, noting that she must always bear in mind what her house stands for, namely textiles and paisleys.
Anyone with an eye on street fashion today knows that it’s all a giant mix — the high, the low, the exotic, the classic — stirred for maximal personal expression. Were a woman insulated in an eclectic yet bourgeois lifestyle to wear a biker jacket, a streetwear staple, she would print it with delicately melancholy micro florals and layer it over a long, mixed-print, bias-cut dress. Her mink coat would be customized with far-flung, evocative embroidery on the back. A beloved oversize sweater worn to tatters would dress down a Lurex jacquard dress.
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The collection was beautiful, a rich blend that reflected Etro’s brand heritage — here, steeped in deep jewel colors and opulent renditions of its fabrics, benefiting from the designer’s own personal experience. “I took a lot of inspiration from my period in London in the Nineties,” she said, in other words, describing the strong current of upscale grunge and English tailoring. Paisleys intersected plaids, and long flannel shirts were worn open over gilded slipdresses. The layers were opulent yet gentle and the individual pieces were as strong as the composite look. Some of the best items were classically tailored coats, such as a long trench in houndstooth and floral printed silk, and a sweeping admiral’s coat with cuffs done in traditional gold embroidery as well as a panel of kimono silk. The view from this window is pretty nice, looking out or in.