Gabriele “Bebe” Moratti has been feeling down. Alienated and angered by world events and wanting to rebel against the status quo, he harked back to his teenage years, when he would shut himself in his room and listen to Pearl Jam, Smashing Pumpkins and Nirvana.
While Redemption has always referenced music in its collections, this felt far more personal. Cue a grunge soundtrack transformed into clothing form; a collection that, while not lacking in glitz and bare skin, was significantly more dressed-down in style than Moratti’s previous proposals. While attention to detail, finish and fabric were somewhat hidden behind the message, they were there for those who looked. And aristo-grunge has, after all, been proving quite a crowd-pleaser in certain circles of late.
Oversized red lumberjack shirts were worked with Lurex threads, or as an allover sequin motif on a tuxedo suit, and boyfriend jeans and denim jackets were embroidered and patched, almost as if by an angry adolescent hand.
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Dresses came by way of long silk-and-lace negligees, luxurious yet nonchalant when paired with an outsized military surplus-style jacket, or with high-end versions of the tutu-style skirts some will remember pairing with their Doc Martens back in the day.
In case the message was unclear, Moratti’s political malaise was knocked home with one T-shirt, worn large and off the shoulder, reprising the cover of Nirvana’s “Nevermind.” It differed only in that the swimming baby’s face – chasing a dollar bill, lest we forget – had been replaced by that of President Trump.