Alessandro Dell’Acqua had a relatively straightforward prescription for spring: beautiful colors, divine party dresses and major statement shoes. Without minimizing his work, which involved incredible, couture-level fabric treatments and a light hand with Forties-inspired silhouettes, it really was that simple.
“At this moment, it was very important to do color, a very positive attitude makes women beautiful,” Dell’Acqua said backstage before the show, standing in front of a mood board pinned with Erwin Blumenfeld photos from American Vogue in the Forties and Fifties. The colors from the photos — yellow, sky blue, magenta, lilac and green — translated directly to the opening of the show, where Dell’Acqua built a powerfully pretty color story, layering solids in compilations that popped, like a filmy lavender single-shoulder dress over a bottle green pleated tulle skirt that was worn with stretch mineral-blue opera gloves and magenta satin slingback sandals atop towering wooden platforms.
The main silhouette — nipped waist; full, soft skirt — remained consistent throughout the course of the collection, but Dell’Acqua broke it up with ruching and draping, layered lingerie bandeaus and a few classic secretary separates — a cardigan here, a crewneck sweater there. Scattered utility shirts added a nice tomboy twist, but the lineup was unapologetically feminine, moving from brights to fleshy makeup tones and then dreamy brocades, floral jacquards, devoré velvets and hand-painted flowers, as the footwear became increasingly embellished, too. Though it was all obviously retro-inspired, the clothes didn’t feel dowdy or dated. Dell’Acqua kept it light and fresh.