Marco De Vincenzo puts his stamp on Etro, adding his own perspective to the label’s signature elements. At a showroom appointment before the fall, he sounded confident; after the spring show, “the direction seems clearer,” he said. The potion he concocts to bring Etro forward is part heritage, part personal quirks: a fine-tuned alchemy.
“When a brand’s heritage has a strong foundation,” he reasoned, “as a creative product you move within a perimeter that protects its survival while at the same time protecting the integrity of your interpretation.” De Vincenzo likes to delve deep into the archives; this season he worked on the masculine templates of Etro’s early days and on its romantic, bohemian legacy – two seemingly contradictory ingredients, laced with the flair for compelling decoration inherent in its character.
Etro’s idea of masculinity has always been unconventional, tinged with a warm-hearted, dandy attitude. The Vincenzo picked up the same vibe in the feminine translation of the classic masculine suit, offered here in oversized versions, either in tie-like heraldic jacquards or with pinstripes, worn over sporty sweats with silk hoods printed with paisley motifs. As one of the signifiers of the label, the bone got the riveting treatment in stretchy knit sheath dresses, paired with long matching stoles; mixed with flowers it accentuated the flowing, simple silhouettes that are De Vincenzo’s take on the boho look. They looked less elaborate and full than previous iterations. “I don’t take a radically minimalist approach,” De Vincenzo said. “But what I’m trying to do is keep the approach a bit more rigorous, reducing rather than strengthening. I want to challenge myself to remain authentic, both towards the brand and towards myself.”
