Marco de Vincenzo may have arrived in the fashion consciousness quite recently, but the Roman designer honed his skills for years at Fendi, where he became familiar with the finest techniques and craftsmanship. His confident, mature approach to elaborating complicated, rich fabrics and materials emerged in his impressive spring collection.
De Vincenzo opened the show with a group of pastel buffalo checks, including a coat and some tops and skirts, in which the checks were created by blocks of densely packed fringe. With their slightly Western feel and lively dynamism, these set the tone for the show, which was upbeat and cool, and fused a sense of playfulness with sophistication.
In a crescendo of experimentation and decoration, de Vincenzo played with optical illusion in subtly ribbed knit dresses that revealed their full colors when in motion, color-blocked knit dresses in subtle ribs and a jacquard embroidered with a graphic dégradé. And he expanded on the theme of checks with laser-cut silk skirts and dresses with delicate dégradé effects and in looks woven from wide leather strips, including a multicolor python coat. It was risky but impeccably executed and ultrachic.