However you feel about Lily Collins’ most-talked-about character of the year, you’ve got to applaud her sense of adventure and confidence. Here, our showcase of Resort 2021’s most wanderlust-inducing collections that cheekily references her sojourn. (And there are no cheesy tourist selfies.)
Virginie Viard’s light and swingy collection for Chanel is an effortlessly chic wardrobe-on-the-go, packed with easy propositions such as unlined tweed jackets, swimsuits as tops and wispy skirts that double as dresses. The vibrant pinks in particular are a nod to the bougainvillea – a flower not unfamiliar to us as well as to Capri, where the collection was originally intended to be presented at.
“Self-assured, elevated, alive” – this was the mood Daniel Lee was aiming for at Bottega Veneta this season and it shows in this assertive collection that the brand refers to as “Wardrobe 01”. Nifty manipulations of textiles have become Lee’s signature and it continues here not just on sculptural tailoring (another one of his signatures), but also languid separates that put an intellectual spin on resort style. The key print – a graphic latticework motif with a touch of exotica – is aptly named Fantasia and is in fact an illustration of intertwined human figures that are an ode to the brand’s Intrecciato weave.
Jeremy Scott has kept things simple at Moschino, meshing codes of both the house (a fondness for colour, humour and the verve to call out fashion’s most precious tropes) and his own to create a spirited, vaguely ’60s-ish collection. The results are replete with polka dots, Italian motifs (the colours of the country’s flag, for one) and slogan tees – a Scott signature since he debuted at the brand. If there’s one brand to always count on to put a smile on our faces, this is it.
If there’s one word to sum up Balenciaga’s Resort 2021 collection, it might just be “familiarity”. Demna Gvasalia’s starting point was what people tend to wear when “truly dressing for themselves” and that’s translated into playful updates of the brand’s most well-loved archetypes.
On the fancier side of things are the likes of its signature Pantashoes, Vareuse blouse, and car coat, now made lighter in weight and colour (think stonewashed denim and candy-pink calfskin). On the more casual end: tracksuits, hoodies, and of course, plenty of tourist-inspired merch like this leather tote with a photoprint of the City of Angels.
The highlight of Gucci’s Resort 2021 collection – titled “Epilogue” – might have been its presentation in July: a 12-hour live stream documenting the making of the campaign with the brand’s own staff from the design team becoming models. Alessandro Michele wanted to “generate a questioning about the rules, the roles and the functions that keep the world of fashion going”.
What does this mean for the collection itself? It’s quintessentially Michele or – as he puts it – “a celebration of my point of view, things that I did in the past, pieces that belong to my aesthetic”. So expect a delightful jumble of influences from various cultures and eras with a particular emphasis on the ’70s and tailoring. The season’s cartoon collaborations? Donald Duck and Doraemon. Little wonder that it got us dreaming of the Japanese capital, the birthplace of Harajuku style.
In times of strife and social distancing, the healing powers of the human touch and the community cannot be underestimated. Maria Grazia Chiuri puts all those on display and more in a beautifully rustic Dior collection that pays tribute to the culture and arts of Puglia in southern Italy, a region that has personal ties for her.
Besides enlisting local artists, family businesses, and cultural institutions to lend their expertise for the show that took place in the town of Lecce, the region’s artisans were roped in to apply their savoir-faire (think weaving and lacemaking) onto the likes of gauzy maxi skirts and dresses, and homey knits.
Digital Imaging Hisyam A Rahman
This article first appeared in the Dec 2020 Be Yourself edition of FEMALE