More Art Than Science
Review of Del Core Spring 2025 Fashion Show
By Mark Wittmer
THE COLLECTION
THE VIBE
Intellectual. Sculptural. Light. Literary.
Ever the experimenter, Daniel Del Core’s Spring 2025 collection took a more direct look at the theme of intellectual curiosity that has shaped his signature vision of sculptural and dramatic women’s dressing.
While previous collections have drawn on points of inspiration from the study of the natural world, like botany and entomology, this time the designer opted to begin from the idea of scientific pursuit itself. A subtle reference to the iconic image of a scientist in a lab coat threaded its way throughout the collection in the form of sheer overlays, while that sense of clinical protection was also present in clever riffs on latex gloves and shoe covers.
Extending this idea of intellectual discovery, the collection’s most striking styling choice was the way many models carried uniform editions of books by woman authors – from foundational works of early modern literature like Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein to Rachel Carson’s deeply important expose of environmental destruction Silent Spring, to complex works of critical theory by Hanna Arendt, Judith Butler, and Donna Haraway. While at first it might seem hard to connect these philosophically far-reaching texts to the collection itself, some further reflection reveals deep thought on the designer’s part. Just as Del Core’s dresses reckon with the history of women’s dressing, so do Shelley and Austen explore themes of the creation of self and the tension between women’s individuality and the societal roles in which they are place. Butler’s featured text explores the dynamics of public assembly under prevailing economic conditions, while Haraway – elucidating her ideas through vocabulary like “tentacular,” “Chthulucene,” and “oddkin” and the image of the compost pile – takes the idea of assembly further as she advocates for a multi-species connectedness in the face of a precarious future. Science, Del Core seems to be saying, is no help without ethics and art” the purpose of a knowledge is to create toward a more beautiful, thoughtful, egalitarian world.
THE DIRECTION
THE QUOTE
Thinking about what my career would be if I wasn’t a fashion designer, I started from the idea of science and research. I wanted details from the laboratory without being literal, and then that extended to the books as well – some examples of what I think an intellectual person should read.”
THE WRAP UP
Del Core cleverly evolved his practice by incorporating themes of philosophy and feminism to further expand and humanize his study of the natural world. As evinced by the fact that Naomi Campbell not only closed the show, but told the designer she would love to walk on his runway after they connected over Instagram (he shared backstage that at first he thought she was joking), Del Core’s star is continuing to rise, and he’s in it for the long haul.
