Review of N°21 Fall 2023 Fashion Show
The Lady Comes Undone
By Angela Baidoo
No sooner had we fallen headlong into a hedonistic display of sex, sexiness, and everything sexual, than for fall designers decided to perform a semi about turn to re-dress the balance with clothes that whisper rather than shout about what may lay underneath. For his fall 2023 collection Alessandro Dell’Acqua could be found peeling back the layers of the ladylike demeanour that can be found throughout his passion project.
The sensual art of seduction became a new lens through which to view the No21 woman.
For fall designers have done a semi about turn and decided to re-dress the balance with clothes that whisper rather than shout about what may lay underneath.
Always putting a spin on what it means to be prim and proper, for fall No21 gave us a literal dressing down. The Italian sensibility of womanhood has always been focussed on strength and the allure of the feminine. Placing emphasis on curves hidden within fitted shifts that graze the knee, and necklines that may reveal nothing more than a collarbone to set pulses racing. And next season, for the woman who wishes to step into her feminine power, there was plenty Dell’Acqua had to offer that found the perfect harmony between reveal and revere.
A classic palette of grey, camel, and black – with a shot of apple green – laid the foundation for the clothes to do the talking. And they spoke of a woman in full control of her sexuality, from the slip dresses that folded down to become skirts, to the knitwear that revealed multiple layers of lingerie, and straps and sleeves that were falling off shoulders that made for a subtle bit of suggestiveness.
The designer also played with proportions as shrunken jacket silhouettes and low-rise mini skirts gave a healthy peek at a bare midriff, and showed off the designers particularly skilful hand at construction and deconstruction, as a number of knitted cardigans and tailored jackets were flipped and buttoned at the back, either skewed or fastened with a scorpion motif brooch – an insect which itself can come to symbolise transformation. What set the reversing of the jackets apart, more than just a styling trick that often doesn’t translate at retail, unless replicated with some clever visual merchandising, was the fact that the designer had incorporated princess seams to accentuate the bust, ensuring that the jacket is worn firmly back-to-front. A small design detail, but it is often something that is overlooked by other designers when they play with this concept.
Watch out for a mini revival of the lace-trimmed camisole – already seen at the co-ed collection of Dsquared2 – this is the more casual iteration of underwear as outerwear.
Watch out for a mini revival of the lace-trimmed camisole – already seen at the co-ed collection of Dsquared2 – this is the more casual iteration of underwear as outerwear, and it is set to become the winterised version of the ribbed white tank.