Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
MILAN, Italy — There is change in the air at Bally: departing designer Pablo Coppola worked on Autumn's collection before his departure in December, and the company has since appointed an internal trio to separately helm their three key axes of accessories, shoes, and ready-to-wear (ranked, undoubtedly, in order of importance). Key members of Coppola's team have remained — a fact that counted for the continuing synergy between those categories yet the brand's 'fashion' message lacked coherence with its heritage.
Case in point: today a vague 'gentleman's club' theme framed the season's eclectic leather-goods (and quite often leather garments) with comic, pop culture motifs like lips, hearts, and racing stripes. The clothes too ran a gamut of 'sports-luxe' leather treatments, from leopard or cowhair bonded to silvered foil, burnished calfskin, and a metallic padded lambskin, all of which paired with a razzle dazzle of uppity cocktail and leisurewear in velvet, golf checks, and lurex that skewed both Tom Ford and Alessandro Michele-era Gucci.
In the accessories department, pieces like the ‘B-turn’ twist-lock bag and a fold-down loafer got the glamour treatment too, embellished with studs, gold bows, and poker motifs. They made the restrained and rugged elegance of a polished cognac leather hiking boot in the men’s department feel like welcome relief.
