Albino, Vanotti, Arbesser: the new generation of Italian fashion

By

Dominique Muret

Translated by
Jennifer Braun

Published
Feb 22, 2018

Before giving way to industry titans like Gucci, three designers from the new “Made in Italy” generation, opened Wednesday morning the first day of Milan fashion shows. The designers; Albino Teodoro, Lucio Vanotti and Arthur Arbesser, each unveiled their well-defined styles through their Fall/Winter 2018-19 collections. 

The eldest of them, Albino D'Amato, made his comeback on the Milan catwalk last year with his ready-to-wear line re-baptized Albino Teodoro. After creating the Maison Albino in 2004, through the Chambre Syndicale de la Couture, the designer restructured the company in 2014 and took control of production and distribution. The label is sold today through some 70 multi-brand distributors. Collections are distinguished by a beautiful mastery of cut, and skilfully mix classic and contemporary styles.
 
"I was inspired by contemporary art movements that decontextualise past work by placing them in a modern context. So, I started with my sewing basics, playing with volume and shape, and mixing materials that blend masculine fabrics, double satins, jacquards," explained the designer backstage.

Contrasts could indeed be found everywhere in this collection, where gloved women wore sandals with heels and tartan socks. Coat closings were disproportionate and in opposite tones, while loose simple dresses in shimmery satins could be found among brocade tapestry style outfits with puffed sleeves.
 
Jacket-dresses in rich jacquard were created with internal straps, allowing jackets to transform into dresses by hanging on the shoulders.

"On the one hand there is construction work to allow dual use of the garment. But I especially wanted to offer women other ways to use the clothes, giving a younger look to some pieces," he said.

Lucio Vanotti, who hit the Milan catwalk on February 21 before Albino, surprised this season with a very colorful palette. And it was a success. Known for his uncompromising fashion, naturally elegant, and unisex clothing with a minimalist style, the designer offered for the first time a series of brightly coloured monochrome pieces: orange, shocking pink, electric blue, rust, and yellow.
 
It was the 'uniform', in all its forms (sports, work, classic) that the designer wanted to reinterpret, as he told FashionNetwork.com backstage: "I took the most immediate codes of different uniforms, such as the colour and comfort of the sports world, the elegance and the fabrics of the classic universe, but intensified the whole, from shapes to colours."
 
The designer's wardrobe for men and women, therefore, reinterpreted the classic mechanic-worker combination, zipped through the front and on the pockets; the tracksuit type; as well as the traditional Prince of Wales attire. In this case, the proportions of the pants were reworked with a very low crotch for men, while women were given an over-skirt that was no more the bottom of the Prince of Wales jacket. Meanwhile, for him and for her, the blue striped cotton shirt was a feature, and shoes were simply white.
 
As for the traditional corduroy attire, it was transformed into a brown pantsuit for women with a jacket that followed masculine proportions. Also, a nice find was the reinterpretation of the jean in four pieces with denim effect in orange tones (the overall-dress, the midi-skirt, the pants and the jacket) made in an English wool. 

The last designer of the trio, Arthur Arbesser, is a new foreign talent who has made his home in Milan, where he created his women's ready-to-wear brand in 2013. This season, he wanted to dedicate his collection to Vienna, his hometown, drawing his inspiration from the painters of the Secession.
 
The Viennese-inspired collection sparkled with varnished coloured or golden boots, and many pieces with a Lurex metallic effect. It consisted of slightly flared mid-length dresses, long pleated or slit skirts and tailored suits in geometric prints - stripes, diamonds, bands. The accents were all inspired by the details of architecture and other objects developed in the applied arts at the end of the 19th century in Vienna, from ceramics to furnishing, blown glass and tapestries.
 
Meanwhile, big abstract flowers took over dresses or spread over a jacket with big brush strokes.

"Each look is reminiscent of a table mixing elegance and artistic taste," the designer said at the end of the show, referencing mesh, printed wool, and the typical fabrics from the Secession. Meanwhile, the textile company Backhausen, specialised in upholstery fabrics, reissued for the occasion fabrics from its archives in materials adapted for clothing, such as wool or silk.