No 21 S/S 2018

Scene setting: The collection was unveiled outside No 21’s recently opened Via Archimede headquarters, where the 1,500 sq m space was conceived as a ‘modernist palazzo’ by founder Alessandro Dell’Acqua and architect Hannes Peer. Its all-black façade houses everything from the brand’s showrooms to its design studios, fitted with heavenly marble and Ceppo di Grè stone and furnishings by Le Corbusier and Willy Rizzo.

Mood board: The new HQ certainly had a forward-thinking bent, although Dell’Acqua was in a more reflective mood for S/S 2018, plundering his own archives. It’s a history loaded with femininity, the designer envisaged a plethora of nighttime looks in fleshy tones, like transparent gelato-pink petticoats; delicate skirts detailed with feathers; flapper-style sequinned negligees; and sugary shorts. Dell’Acqua is known for catering to a cool and contemporary customer, and these romantic silhouettes were offset by more sporty shapes, like glossy black windbreakers, buckled belts and diamante encrusted leather hoods.

Best in show: No 21 worked with 21 shades of nude for this collection. Standout was a layered nude skirt, shimmering with an under-layer of sequins, paired with an embroidered shirt and a cagoule – elegance meets the intrepid.