Bow Down as N°21 Comes Ready Wrapped for Fall
Review of N°21 Fall 2025 Fashion Show
By Angela Baidoo
THE COLLECTION
THE VIBE
Bow by Bow, The (Sophia) Coppola Back Catalogue, Presents and Presence
Often used to represent the concealing of a gift, the bow in today’s No.21 show was used literally and figuratively to wrap up the three loose themes which ran through Alessandro Dell’Acqua’s work, taken from re-watching three culturally impactful Sophia Coppola films – Lost in Translation , The Virgin Suicides and Marie Antoinette. From the first film, starring Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson, the designer brought back into the frame the LBD which was worn as part of a memorable karaoke scene where Johansson donned a pink wig, todays version featured an exaggerated bow forming a sweetheart neckline. The influence of the Virgin Suicides became a play between the masculine and feminine/heavy and light fabric mixes – a particularly interesting styling trick layered a twee shirt dress in lilac over a half slip in mint green, leather belted at the waist to represent that mix. Dell’Acqua may have also presented us with a reason to give up our barn jacket obsession as his masculine-inspired corduroy Peacoat came with a forest green crocodile collar! And lastly the saccharine sweetness on acid from the Marie Antionette movie fuelled a modern fifties section that could have been cut straight from a paper doll play set.
Given that The Virgin Suicides will celebrate its 25th anniversary this year and the Trad Wife movement is here to stay, and wield an even bigger influence (for the next four years at least) on fashion, Dell’Acqua surely won’t be the last designer to mine the film for inspiration. We already saw the twee floral dress take the lead at Prada’s spring 2025 show. And as a reversion into all things childlike is a natural reaction when things around us get too much the designer looked to ’sartorial cuts’ to create pretty flared hems and sleeves across dresses, jackets and pants and those neatly tied bows to punctuate his ‘design intent’.
THE DIRECTION
THE QUOTE
The bow is an intrusive construction that may appear awkward if set on clean lines. However, it is also an element able to create the allure of surprise. I made use of bows to stress the starting point of this collection which comes
from my rereading of three Sofia Coppola films: Lost in Translation, The Virgin Suicides and Marie Antoinette.Allesandro Dell’Acqua, Creative Director, No21
THE WRAP UP
For fall the No21 woman is both fully present and a present, she is more than just ornamentation as on some days she is a tomboy in cords and on others her sexual prowess is fully formed in a sequin bandeau dress. In this collection the bow proves a welcome invasive design element reclaiming its cutesy beginnings and growing in proportion or multiplying in number to become an almost awkward covering, aligning with the brands ongoing inside-out view of femininity and its ‘diverse expressions’.
