N21's Mods and Neopunks

MILAN, Italy — The world is going astray, with the big powers getting more and more suffocating as the days pass. No wonder rebellion sounds like the only possible option, culturally and aesthetically. There are a lot of rebels around the milanese catwalks in these days, but nowhere did they look as stylish and sharply dressed — with their embroidered hoodies, even a tad ambiguous and delicate — as at No.21.

After a season's hiatus, Alessandro Dell'Acqua went back to the catwalk with an honest and invigorating show that saw him in top form. There was the slightly postmodern mash-up which is a Dell'Acqua signature: mods and neopunks, street protesters and clubbers elegantly shared their wardrobes in angular ways, and the result felt fresh and relevant, apt for a fast march on the streets of any metropolis. There were the usual nods to Helmut Lang, now dressed up with a dash of Gosha, but that's fine, too. Dell'Acqua has a wonderful way to catch the zeitgeist and make it its own.