Clueless

The autumn-winter 2021 collection by Rodarte, with a look-book photographed on a breezy beach, has a magical, witchy aura about it with a 1990s style twist. And it also feautures Alicia Silverstone, the actress behind Cher Horowitz’s wholesome persona, sun-kissed and smiling, alongside Aurora James, Heather Kemesky, and other models. The campy, kitschy teen world of Amy Heckerling’s 1995 classic might seem miles away from the broody gothicism often associated with Rodarte, but Kate and Laura Mulleavy grew up on Clueless. They saw it in theaters in their native California – and then rented it “hundreds” of times from their local video store. However, he plaid suits and slip dresses Cher wears in the film aren’t recut one-to-one in the Mulleavys’ interpretation. Theirs has always been a more abstract aesthetic. This season, they started with a bias-cut halter midi-dress in cartoon hibiscus prints or vixen sequins held up with a ribbon bow at the neck. They learned last season that waft-y, comfortable dresses do well and extrapolated on them with V-neck dresses and flutter-sleeve maxis in a mix of vintage-store pastel florals and grungy black. For going out, they built up their sequined offering, and for staying in they translated their floral prints into stretch dresses, tops, and pants. There’s also a big varsity jacket, an evolution of their popular souvenir style, worn by models of all genders. One of the crucial lessons of Clueless is that the right outfit can change your stature, your mood, even your life. The Mulleavys understand this, and they imbue that cinematic sense of dressing up for who you aspire to be into their collections. They’re famous for their extraordinary red carpet dresses, but the Mulleavys do make clothing for people’s actual, beautiful, and mundane lives. “We are thinking about how people want to wear things,” Laura says. It’s definitely good to see the designers come back with a optymistic collection after the tumultuous year of lockdowns and crisis.

“Live” collage by Edward Kanarecki.

It’s been a while since I have written anything about Emilio Pucci. I won’t hide it, the Peter Dundas era always not significant for me. His super sleek Pucci women felt so unexciting, that there is no wonder why he left the house to move to Roberto Cavalli (burp). But the first collection by the new creative director, Massimo Giorgetti, has something that caught my eye. The designer of ultra-trendy MSGM, brought some eccentric vibe into the heritage house of kaleidoscopic prints and luxury goods – amazing fringe coats, youthful florals and eye-killer colour combinations. Giorgetti’s side-buttoned blouses – a nod to the Pucci printed silk scarf—sat strangely on the body, while his one-shoulder deconstructed button-downs featured peculiar, exaggerated sleeves. Giorgetti has a sense of measure about eclecticism: his women didn’t look odd, but rather like the Clueless characters which suddenly appeared in Milan.