It’s the dawn of a new day at Blumarine, where new creative director Walter Chiapponi made crystal clear he was eager to erase his predecessor Nicola Brognano’s work and take the brand on a different journey.
“I arrived in this company three months ago, so I didn’t have much time to work on this collection but I completely immersed myself in the archive for a week,” said Chiapponi backstage. “I wanted to smell what has happened in these years and I wanted to erase what happened in the nearer years, in the sense that I am not a person who understands Y2K culture and Mrs. Anna [Molinari, Blumarine’s cofounder] wouldn’t understand it, either. She’s a woman who never touched vulgarity. She was a frivolous woman, with a lot of romanticism and that’s all she has taught me when I worked for her more than 20 years ago.”
Talk about making a statement.
Chiapponi embroidered another one on the back of a sheer dress, leaving little to the imagination that simply stated “Le retour à l’amour,” telegraphing the designer’s intention to restate the romantic ethos rather than social media hype as gravitational center of its aesthetics.
Other Blumarine signifiers were also reprised in this seminal effort, including the signature roses, here worked in little floral patterns splashed on ethereal gowns, pajama sets and technical outerwear. The leopard animalier motif and heart shapes also made an appearance on faux furs or the back cutout of a fuzzy yellow minidress, respectively.
Chiapponi’s goal was to portray different personalities, and that was evident in the array of different aesthetics he crammed in the lineup. The Blumarine cardigan reworked with marabou pompoms and coming with a matching skirt was alternated with maxi overshirts with a tomboy-ish feel, while ornate minidresses covered in floral appliqués mingled with the delicate transparencies of a laced suit.
The biggest novelty was the introduction of menswear, with 10 looks adding to the variety of styles via tracksuit pants in popping colors or fuzzy coats in floral patterns that could have fitted Kurt Cobain’s vibe. “There will be more and more menswear looks going forward, because I believe we can’t speak of reality and personalities if we focus only on one gender,” said Chiapponi. “I want to create a globality and make this brand to return to be as relevant as it was.”
The intentions are noble, and Chiapponi can count on his previous stint at the company as additional compass to guide his journey. But the urge to offer a stylistic clean slate seemed to have led the designer toward an instinctive approach for this collection, which resulted in a tad too many ideas thrown together. It will be interesting to see which concepts he prioritizes as his creative vision for the brand takes shape. The fact that it comes from a place of love is already an encouraging start.
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