In the No. 21 Resort 2027 collection, Alessandro Dell'Acqua does not merely reference the past - he holds a conversation with it. The designer, whose namesake label emerged in the late 1990s, returns to his own visual lexicon with a knowing nod, layering contrasting tulle and floral embroideries atop strapless dresses and tops. The effect is a deliberate déjà vu, a wink at the archive that feels both intimate and fresh.
Dell'Acqua taps into a sentiment many designers are sensing: women want to dress up again. But he does so on his own terms, eschewing saccharine sweetness for a tension between masculine and feminine. This interplay is central to the collection's lingerie-inspired separates - slipdresses, laced tank tops, and crinkled lace-trimmed frocks in pastel hues. Historically, the slipdress emerged from the boudoir into the street in the 1990s, when designers like Calvin Klein and John Galliano blurred the line between private and public dressing. Dell'Acqua continues that tradition, but grounds it in the everyday.
He pairs the flimsiness of crepe de chine and chiffon with oversize bomber jackets and meaty leather biker pieces. A satin moiré coat in a balloon shape feels both refined and weightless, while a ruffled long dress covered in rose prints is crafted from nylon and comes with a matching anorak. The lingerie museum curator in me notes the inlaid lace construction on full skirts that evokes a tartan motif - a clever subversion of pattern through intimate technique. Even the closing polka-dot pieces, layered with tulle in a 3D rosette pattern, recall the decorative excess of 19th-century corset covers.
Dell'Acqua's genius lies in making the special feel real. He delivers garments that are both covetable and wearable, a wardrobe for the woman who wants to feel dressed up without being weighed down by history.
Originally reported by WWD