Mood board: Alessandro Dell’Acqua has flown off into the creative realm of complex cutting and layering in recent collections, but for A/W 2017 he fiercely reined in these trendy indulgences, returning to the soft, feminine silhouettes that made No 21 a cool girl mainstay in the first place. The show was more grown-up, and decisively less rooted in the street than seasons past but that shift had no bearing on its desirability.
Best in show: Dell’Acqua can cut pencil skirts and a rhinestone bedazzled cocktail dress like nobody’s business. But his real talent lies in taking all of the ladylike codes and mixing them breathlessly with something less sciura. Case in point: a camel knit sweater with a black mink fur pointed collar came in the shape and consistency of your little brother’s baseball sweatshirt. Even better were the oversized knitted crew neck sweaters featuring scenes of the slacker beach life in Los Angeles which Dell’Acqua mischievously paired with 1950s tweed circle skirts.
Finishing touches: Footwear is this designer’s speciality — surprisingly, he hoisted his models up and off their preferred flat (but wacky) footwear and instead wrapped them into pastel-hued stiletto sandals adorned with large crystals, wrapped up with satin ballerina ribbons around the ankle and worn with coloured socks. Butterfly buckle elastic belts and shiny rhinestone brooch pins completed the twisted vintage look.
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Discover a futuristic bar in Shanghai with mad-scientist energyPenicillin opens in Shanghai with a clinical steel and concrete design by LC Studio alongside its trailblazing, sustainable cocktails
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This cardboard and rope chair seeks to redemocratise design with ‘joyful frugality’Wallpaper* speaks to architect Nipun Prabhakar of Dhammada Collective about the studio’s latest project, ‘Paper Tube, an open-source chair made from discarded cardboard tubes and rope
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The Sinclair name is back, attached to a pocket-sized games console with an educational edgeGrant Sinclair’s name is freighted with early computing history. Wallpaper* tapped up the British inventor to find out more about his new GamerCard console and other innovation
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With an ode to Italy, Homme Plissé Issey Miyake brings its brand of fashion magic to Florence’s Pitti UomoMarking the start of a new nomadic way of showing for the Japanese label, Homme Plissé Issey Miyake held its S/S 2026 show at Florence’s Villa Medicea della Petraia as part of Pitti Uomo last night (18 June) with a collection inspired by the colours and textures of Italy
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Milan Fashion Week Men’s S/S 2023: Fendi to PradaFrom Prada’s exploration of archetypal menswear garments to JW Anderson’s much-anticipated debut in the city, the best of Milan Fashion Week Men’s S/S 2023, as it happens
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Milan Fashion Week S/S 2022: ‘Fendace' to FerragamoFashion Week returns to form in the Italian home of style and design. Here is everything you need to know about Milan Fashion Week S/S 2022
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The filmic vision of Paris’ virtual men’s fashion weekTake an in-depth look at the trends of Paris' fashion week for Spring/Summer 2021, where brands turned to the moving image to express their collections virtually
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Giorgio Armani A/W 2020 Milan Fashion Week Women's -
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BOSS A/W 2020 Milan Fashion Week Women's
