Mood board: Since arriving at the house in 2017, Creative Director Rocco Ionne has rooted his research in the Italian arts. For S/S20 he studied artists with a link to Venice, in particular the engraver and antiquarian Giovanni Battista Piranesi. New forms of artistic expression emerged out of Venice in the mid-18th century including capriccio, which Ionne discussed in his notes for the show. In a capriccio, fantastical figures and architectural memory clash. Exoticism and classicism. Ionne read Roberto Calasso’s 2006 book Il rosa Tiepolo, which explores the works of eighteenth-century Venetian painter Giambattista Tiepolo. ‘It was a secret diary, because officially Tiepolo did a lot of frescos for Borghese villas and churches but he produced a kind of diary, a sketchbook, where he put together a lot of elements from satanism, nature, angels, religion,’ Ionne said.
Best in show: Ionne is one for whimsy: ‘I love art history, when I see frescos – Italian art in general – I try to render all of these elements with a contemporary approach.’ The Technicolor Castle Sammezzano in Tuscany and the theatrical Borromeo villa on Lake Maggiore influenced the textured linens and fun prints. Ionne produced sketches using Tiepolo’s paintings, which were printed on silk twill and silk jacquard: a camouflage of animals, vegetables and religious iconography. ‘I used the 1980s silhouette too because it was a very capriccio time! It was funny to put them together and create a collection that in any case still continues to have an Italian aesthetic but with a softness,’ he said. Cashmere silk and linen suiting with wide shoulders had a sporty, Wham-appeal. Trousers had cargo pockets and were cropped.
Sound bite: The show, staged in the round of an ancient Roman Hamam, had shades of 1980s power-dressing married with formal classicism. Tailored jackets came without sleeves. Trousers were pleated and worn high on the waist. ‘A lot of elements together, creating a kind of dream. It’s an approach that inspires me a lot because this gave a starting point to a big movement that influenced architecture, art, music, writing etc,’ Ionne said. Standout was a tailored shorts suit in phantasmagoric jacquard alive with leopards and lizards. §
