Since signing on to Rochas in 2013, Alessandro Dell’Acqua has put the accent on whimsy. A quick sweep of the e-commerce sites that stock the brand reveals duchesse satin floral-print skirts, gold lamé pants, and sequined Mary Janes, with the odd coat or two for ballast. For Spring, Dell’Acqua doubled down. There was a single pair of pants on the runway—cropped and green and worn with a mismatched twinset in blue and fuchsia. The collection’s lone coat was cinched at the waist and peeling off the shoulders, noncommittal. In the relative absence of such wardrobe building blocks, there were lots and lots of party frocks.
Dell’Acqua’s first big message was color. He said he lifted his palette from the artist Erwin Blumenfeld and his silhouette—fitted up top, long and A-line below—from the 1940s, “only lighter.” Marigold chiffon pleats topped baby pink, and lilac was layered over emerald green. The oddness of these color combinations was heightened by the addition of elbow-length knit gloves in even more hues. Next came a section in shades of beige featuring a draped and ruched jersey dress, a slip worn over a fine-gauge sweater, and an off-the-shoulder peplum top and skirt combination, all of which looked somewhat anemic next to the brights that preceded them. To conclude, Dell’Acqua turned to rich fabrics like velvet fil coupé, a silvery jacquard lamé, and one quite pretty multicolor floral shrouded in black tulle. Even still, this collection came off a little like a one-dimensional trifle.
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