A journey, a serene escape. Sunny places, some at times desolate, ablaze with light. Straight roads, motels, bars. Cleaned out like containers of a reflection. A flight forward to leave behind overworked meanings, weighted down by habit and use. A solitary road trip, traveling at a constant speed, no fast acceleration or abrupt braking, taking the position of an observer.
«It’s a collection of clothes that I like to call classic, basic, essential, necessary. It’s a vision of menswear that casts off the standardized definitions of recent decades and with the same elements creates a totally new dictionary and ergo wardrobe. That’s why I thought of basics that correspond to classics, all without limiting the clothes to the type of use deriving from standard definitions and meanings. I hope with this to compose a new way for men to dress, one free from the arrogant trappings of male dominance,» says Alessandro Dell’Acqua, creative director of N21.
Finding inspiration in an open reference to sunny California landscapes, the collection aligns the basics of a classic wardrobe: melton coat, straight pants, caban jacket, parka, sweaters, jeans, stripe shirt. Yet all the pieces undergo a transformation for they are rethought in the light, at once metaphorical and real, of a consciously-sought renewal, of a mode of dress that goes beyond both the rules of habit/social ritual and the rules of fashion/styling buzz.
The parka in tartan plaid or in heavy cotton has a plush padding. Knits deconstruct into thick bulky sweaters or into part-mohair part-chiné wool gilet vests. The shiny nylon bomber jacket plays a put-together game and shows up on the sleeves or back of a sweater. Stripe shirts sport small postcard appliqués or allover prints and crumpled effects.
Light melton coats have raw edges or neoprene linings, cabans color-contrast piping. Fine ribbons and bows serve for hugging shirt collars and pant belts. Bleached jeans are worn with shirts in the same fabric, for a fresh take on the Texas tuxedo. Classic style shoes and boots in leather or ponyskin get tweaked with a running sole. The plain or plaid nylon pouch-bag ideally captures a dynamic, practical nonchalant attitude.
This is a very self-aware young man made up of multicultural experiences, so much so that he is able to easily handle an American varsity image that while inflecting Ivy League composure factorizes an imaginative, typically Italian cultural adventure. To build a new masculine culture more attentive to the nuances and circumstances of life, to fashion that takes shape again and again over time.
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Tags: FALL WINTER MEN 2018-19, N°21, N°21 FW 2018-19
Sat, February 3 2018 » Fashion Blog
“NUDA”
Countercurrent/Countercontemporary. Rather than direct referencing, a keen reappropriation. No revision or reworking, by contrast an explicit return to authenticity. «I wanted to go back to my own fashion codes, the ones that established my style and that I’ve now imbued N°21 with through a conscious pursuit of authenticity. So that the style message is clear, recognizable, definite, strong. I like to personalize my work, present my own viewpoint on fashion as a way to take responsibility, because I think the brand should narrate my vision, namely the vision of its author,» says Alessandro Dell’Acqua, creative director of N°21.
Irriverent. Assertion of an authoritative message, one with a distinct personality, on the concept of femininity. The color blush pink — inflected in 21 shades of flesh tone — imprints the character of the collection. «Son qui radiografata, son nuda anche vestita (I am here x-rayed, nude even with my clothes on)»: Nuda, Mina’s 1976 song written by Don Backy, soundtrack for this show, becomes the manifesto that tells the story of clothes in all shades of blush pink and that affirms a woman’s right to have her person and her body respected, no matter how many centimeters of skin are covered or not covered. Embroideries, overlays, plisse skirts with plume inserts, sheer tulle on dresses and parkas, little mohair sweaters with sequins and feathers. Lingerie ribbon distinctly marking seams, the rims of shoes with satin lining and contrast high heel. Lightweight knit bras and culottes appearing under voile dresses. Sequin- or crystal-studded petticoats peeking out from under dresses in nylon or duchesse fabric. Leopard print coats presenting lovely sheer tulle overlays.
Now New. The masculine/feminine mix, another one of Alessandro Dell’Acqua’s fashion codes, infiltrates the N°21 collection through mannish check fabrics in the form of skirts, short pants, bomber jackets. And, quite surprisingly, through full skirts in tech brocades. In a statement by a woman with a multiple personality: «Io v’innamorerò parlandovi di me (I will make you fall in love talking to you about me)», Nuda, Mina.
Eye Candy. Eyewear expressing optimism. Ultra clear colored lenses on frames in blush pink or some other pastel tone. All to highlight an alluring look, a sophisticated step-up in glam through objects and accessories that become iconic if interpreted within the context of a conscious style.
Inspirational. Introduction of the Alice Bag, a long-strap handbag to sport on the shoulder too. In addition to the normal size, there are mini and tote versions. Complete with crystal edging. It joins the Bow Bag, where the brand’s signature bow makes for the smartest of features.
Aspirational. The spring-summer 2018 N°21 collection by Alessandro Dell’Acqua depicts fashion for a woman firmly set on asserting her own aspirations. «Con la mia testa io vi conquisterò (I will win you over with my mind),» as Mina says in the show’s soundtrack. Meanwhile affirming the right to determine the moment of seduction: «E per chi vuol vedere le gambe e il mio sedere, vestiti trasparenti li accontenterò (And for those who want to see my legs and rear, see-through clothes, I will accommodate them)».
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Tags: N°21, N°21 SS 2018, SPRING SUMMER WOMEN 2018
Fri, November 10 2017 » Fashion Blog
Watch the N°21 Spring Summer 2018 Fashion Show in Live Streaming – Milan 20th September 2017 at 6.00 PM. Stay Tuned…!!!
Tags: LIVE STREAMING, N°21, N°21 SPRING SUMMER 2018, SPRING SUMMER WOMEN 2018
Wed, September 20 2017 » Fashion Blog
It’s a vacation story, about freedom, relaxation and optimism, free will too. About touches of eccentricity – as opposed to the pursuit of a clean style – as if it was the way to shift attention, to transfer symbolism and details. The N°21 Spring/Summer 2018 men’s collection expresses an authentic aspiration for levity and the sense of liberation that comes with.
«I designed a collection where freedom prevails over construction and lightness describes a wish for escape – not the type that’s synonymous with flight from present reality, for in his detachment from normal life the man I have in mind expresses the will we all have to rise above day-to-day goings-on in a world that seems to make everything very difficult, very arduous,» says Alessandro Dell’Acqua, creative director of N°21.
This form of escape can, for instance, emerge in the placed print on a white shirt depicting a surfer in action; or in a print illustrating other beach games on an otherwise plain yellow vinyl trench coat, inspired by a young Matt Dillon photographed by Bruce Weber in the late ‘80s/early ‘90s. Images where the sense of lightness becomes complementary to a lifestyle that’s relaxed yet not indifferent, aware but not concerned.
Just as the vinyl detailing on jackets talks about style, the jacquard textures of knits are a nod to the responsibility of a train of thought that’s never superficial. Similarly, contrast piping offsets the classic cut of pants, so attaining a pajama-like softness, while ramage design prints add richness. Then there are coats and jackets in mixes of check fabrics that work closely with the blue suits in cool wool.
«Blue is very important in a man’s wardrobe since it mixes easily with any other color. I use it a lot because I love it: for me, it holds both the idea of freshness and the idea of freedom,» says Alessandro Dell’Acqua. Desirable characteristics that also represent the guidelines of this summer collection all about the beneficial effects of the relaxed feeling of optimism.
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Tags: N°21, N°21 SS 2018, SPRING SUMMER MEN 2018
Mon, June 26 2017 » Fashion Blog
FROM NEOREALISM TO THE AMERICAN DREAM
Glamour meets physicality to tell a story about sensuality and personality. In both movie screens and real life levels, two different, dovetailing dreams intersect in the N°21 fall/winter 2017-18 collection: Italian Neorealism à la Anna Magnani and her exuberant femininity and the American Dream of U.S. college campuses. Each concept emerges through the magnifying glass of a courageous and innovative aesthetic that comes from an elaboration of sensuality and of a keenly aware femininity that finds expression in the most natural of ways.
«What initially inspired me were images of Anna Magnani, not only because she’s my favorite actress, but above all because she embodies a physicality common among Italian women – one exuding a sensuality that’s neither artificial nor affected, that has a conscious element of drama yet materializes with perfect unawareness, natural ease. Her Hollywood days captured my imagination most, back in 1955 when she did The Rose Tattoo, Daniel Mann’s film adaptation of the Tennessee Williams play of the same name. I wanted to describe the moment where she – so feminine, so Italian – crosses paths with another type of femininity, the vision of gender equality taking hold on college campuses at the time, a fine male/female mix of aesthetics and references that led to a glamorous attitude which I see as very modern,» says N°21 creative director Alessandro Dell’Acqua.
The American dream of an Italian woman in Hollywood comes to light in a tale about a strong, resolute, passionate personality who reflects her sensuality in red or nude tone crepe de chine dresses with crystal encrustations and other embellishments or with little chiffon shirts in counterpoint on the open back. Also, in the mannish fabric coats complete with crystal and small mother-of-pearl button embroidery; the mannish fabric tube skirts paired exclusively with crepe de chine blouses, and the damask ones worn with loose-fitting sweaters and faux-sheepskin anoraks; the mannish fabric pantsuits with gathered-shoulder jacket; the chiffon dress & micro cardigan looks; the floral print/campus lettering bomber & micro sweater twin-sets; the jacquard knit skirt & pullover outfits with sequined California beach designs; the cross-twill coats with synth fur trim and long thick faux fourrure. All featuring a silhouette underscored by the sure, sensual stride and the confidently mysterious allure that come from sporting knotted satin bow high-heel sandals, ultrasoft leather bellows bags, and the striking shades, fruit of the brand’s licensing partnership with Linda Farrow.
«I sought to tell a story that would go beyond pure feminine beauty and that would take into consideration the determination, constancy and force of character of a type of self-aware woman who in recent times has disappeared a bit from the scene but who for me has a distinct and interesting pertinence to today’s world,» Alessandro dell’Acqua concludes.
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Tags: FALL WINTER WOMEN 2017-18, N°21, N°21 FW 2017-18
Fri, April 14 2017 » Fashion Blog
Watch the N°21 Fall Winter 2017 Fashion Show in Live Streaming – Milan 22nd February 2017 at 6.00 PM. Stay Tuned…!!!
Tags: FALL WINTER 2017-18, LIVE STREAMING, N°21, N°21 FW 2017
Wed, February 22 2017 » Fashion Blog
Freedom. Protest. Association. Inclusion. Not mere slogans, but quite the contrary they are thoughts and practices underpinning a cultural attitude. Anything but meaningless proclamations, they are concepts and messages substantiating real life. As a reaction to all that we do not like, fashion turns into a way of taking a personal stand. The N° 21 fall/winter 2017-18 men’s collection comes from a reflection on the cultural moment of the times and ideally is an impetus for change and a proposal for discussion.
«What set me in motion were the moods permeating photos of demonstrations and socio-political organization meetings from the 1970s. More than any style of dress or rallying cry on banners, what struck me were the intense feelings captured in the pictures, that spirit of freedom which marked both the thinking and the very existence of men and women back then – a spirit of freedom they also expressed through the clothes they had on. That’s why in this collection, more than rehash fashion tenets, I gave sway to a free association of the thoughts, words, actions and lifestyles inherent to those mood and feelings,» says creative director Alessandro Dell’Acqua.
Bypassing any iconographic reference to past trends, the collection emerges as the elaboration of an attitude. It starts by analyzing the idea of protest in terms of a capacity for reaction that results in the liberty to express a sense of taste free from the restrictions of rules. That’s the essence behind the creation of sheepskin & nylon anoraks, check peajackets with army nylon detailing, light blue crushed poplin shirts, wool & neoprene pants and coats, camel coats with camo nylon accents, pressed serge shirts and bomber jackets, striped mohair cardigans, Norwegian style sweaters with ‘split in two’ patterns, oversize puffers with gold bands along the inside hem, a shearling and a long-hair fur complete with detachable nylon windbreaker, jackets in the latest nappa leather & neoprene mix, ‘heavy’ lightweight shoes with tread soles and stud trim.
As for the sequined fleece hood, it’s the season’s sole accessory – to sport freely with shirts and jackets, sweats and coats, adding a brilliant touch to the style conversation. So the fall/winter 2017-18 N° 21 collection finds expression through clothes that become signs of change, messages which while describing the personality of the individual wearing them underscore his freedom of choice too.
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Tags: FALL WINTER MEN 2017-18, N°21, N°21 FW 2017-18
Wed, January 25 2017 » Fashion Blog
Urge to transgress, aspiration to build something new. All with the awareness that we can change the rules if we are perfectly familiar with them. That’s the thinking behind the definition of a new woman, one who’s ultra-feminine of mind yet very much into a femininity that finds freshness in the superimposition of the contrasting elements emblematic of contemporary cultures. The N°21 collection for spring/summer 2017 comes equally from a desire for continuity and a wish for renewal.
«While needing to break the rules that I now consider passé, I wanted to retake possession of the narrative on femininity forever behind my women’s fashion vision. I created layers of images through an overlapping of references so as to attain a very modern femininity that originates in a strong will to change. And I gave this new woman the chance to transgress and thereby build a present-day reality where perversion becomes a glamour game that’s both innocent and decisive,» says creative director Alessandro Dell’Acqua.
Layers of meaning that reflect tenets in evolution. Motley composite of symbols that ultimately forge connotations consistent with the times. For purposes of obtaining, Dell’Acqua goes on, «bothersome elements in classic femininity disoriented by ruptured elements.» Glam/sport fusion effects that spark quirky images where the off-center stance affords the item of clothing and the person wearing it a further opportunity for expression.
So here then are layered skirts and dresses thanks to the use of East European folk style-print foulards, complete with embroidered patch pockets and semi hidden under sequined plisse half skirts. Zipped scuba sweaters with pom-pom decors and passementerie trim on shoulders. Sequined tube skirts in chiffon and organza with tech fabric-edged side zip closures. Tulle-lined anoraks with big patch pockets all in mikado, versus macramé lace bombers with big patch pockets in duchesse.
Macramé dresses with, by contrast, a techy loose-mesh look. Linear dresses in poplin or crepe de chine, offset by a lovely ruche ruffle. High-heel tech-sole sandals with reflective bow on the narrow toe, in alternative to platforms with a running shoe sole. Big macramé rucksacks, as well as small embroidered cloth bags with macro bow closures and tech cord handles & shoulder straps. Lastly, the eyewear – designed in collaboration with Linda Farrow – where the golden lunette on the lens recaps the symptomatic mystery of this fresh take on the eternal power of feminine allure.
Recollections and references, superimpositions and sensations in crossover mode that inspire «a disruptive action necessary for renewing the tenets of femininity that no longer withstand the test of time. All for a woman who has no fear of skimming the sinful boundaries of her own move in a cool new direction», Dell’Acqua concludes.
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Tags: N°21, N°21 SS 2017, SPRING SUMMER WOMEN 2017
Thu, September 22 2016 » Fashion Blog
Watch the N°21 Spring Summer 2017 Fashion Show in Live Streaming – Milan 21th September 2016 5.30 PM. Stay Tuned…!!!
Tags: LIVE STREAMING, N°21, N°21 SS 2017, SPRING SUMMER WOMEN 2017
Wed, September 21 2016 » Fashion Blog
MOD’S NEW ERA
Mod, as in Modernism. Mod as in Modern Jazz, or new swing music giving origin to the term. Mod as in culture of renewal. Mod, as in youth movement refusing life’s usual surrender, not succumbing to the obvious, and by contrast pursuing ever renewable solutions. Mod as in kind and gentle male culture, peace-loving and reflective. Mod as in casual ease, randomness, at once a way of living and style of dress where imperfection and apparent disorder become the means for making a quick yet content-rich personal statement on modernity.
«I wanted a man very masculine of image and attitude, hardly aggressive, comfortable with his own culture; a man who deals with reality minus the conflictuality of the times and who, without any sense of gender conflict, mixes masculine and feminine but does not confuse personalities and physical appearances», Alessandro Dell’Acqua says about his No. 21 fall/winter 2016 collection.
From here came a collection that’s an invitation to express kindness and courtesy: very mannish clothes in combo with others having typically feminine references, meanwhile drawing freshly from the Mod aesthetic: that pursuit of refinement which remains the last elaboration of a non-conventional male elegance. Applications of gros grain, velvet and crepe de chine passementerie make for precious yet poorish-looking embroidery trim on anoraks, parkas, melton coats, combat-pants pockets.
The crumpled twill of long lingerie style tanks and of classic or bomber-cut shirts offers a fine hint of disheveledness under the striped or speckled mohair sweaters. Shearlings cover crumpled wool shirts, melton or crumpled wool pants with a bicolor flair at the waist. There are also animal print parkas, anoraks, bouclé coats with passementerie trim, leather jackets.
All items come in a palette of hues sweeping from khaki to powder pink, from black-green to cinnamon, all the way to bold black for the classic coats, for sweats and shirts complete with tone-on-tone embroidery. This is a man who dares mixing masculine and feminine references to construct a look bordering on the offhand – which may seem less than perfect at first glance but which results in a coherence between his feelings and the image of himself he wants to convey to others.
He is a man who sports sneakers in a fabric matching his clothes and with the same type of passementerie trim as on his parkas and anoraks, likewise for the leather sneaks. And on his shoulders he carries an oversize canvas or leather rucksack to hold his everyday needs, whether for a week or just a day. Always thinking about that only apparent randomness which entails coherent projects and plans.
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Tags: FALL WINTER 2016-17, N°21, N°21 FW 2016-17
Tue, April 12 2016 » Fashion Blog