Marco De Vincenzo made some progress at Etro, but it’s still a long way to go. His menswear collection from January felt like the right direction. The designer, however, chose a different and very questionable approach for his autumn womenswear. He’s mining the archives, and “trying,” he said, “to get to the roots of my research.” That means coming to terms with the label’s heritage of pattern-mixing and boho-dressing, an aesthetic that looks to 1970s bohemia rather than the structured, geometrical precision and the rhythmic repetition of quirky patterns he favors. That’s clear he has a hard time with connecting these two worlds. The designer attempted his luck with lightness of the flou – which he never worked with – letting in some breezy construction of flounced, ruffled dresses, the imaginative clashing of patterns so inherent to Etro’s house-codes. The bohemian flair is, after all, the synonym of the brand. In the new collection, it felt overworked. Especially when styled with the thick plaid shawls. Some of these outfits looked simply… wrong. And not in an ironic way. For De Vincenzo, enhancing the cultivated textile expertise of Etro “is a duty.” To that end, he interspersed airy chiffon numbers with slim-fitted pantsuits featuring elongated tailcoats, cut in rich 18th century brocades, or with slightly oversized boxy jackets or coatdresses made in malleable multicolored knitted textures and featuring lapel-less round-shaped, double-breasted fronts. “I haven’t changed,” he said. “I’m still the one who takes risks and doesn’t compromise.” Hopefully after all the errors, he finds a method to his vision of Etro.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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