This was a show with Phillip Plein's trademark flash and meat, featuring performances by two Italian bands, one punk (yes, really) and the other hip-hop. It unfolded on a steep, pyramid-like stage, forcing models in skyscraper-heeled boots to carefully descend the steep steps.
The model who opened the show wobbled in her tall, crystal-sequined boots as she descended the stairs, but regained her balance and struck a brave pose. The show must go on.
This co-ed collection was mostly black and filled with sparkles of silver, from boots, jeans and cargo pants to miniskirts, cropped jackets and floor-length coats, bright as the Big Dipper on a clear night.
A biker jacket covered in millions of crystals was reminiscent of a modern Elvis, as was a miniskirt suit adorned with long crystal fringes. Plein styled many of his looks with equally bright baseball caps.
Black dresses came with extra-high slits or peek-a-boo fringes on the back and sides, with long leather or faux fur coats meant to keep out the cold. Plein also introduced a new wide-leg pant silhouette, which he showed to men and women as part of his growing offering of tailored clothing.
Some looks were free of ostentation. A fine caramel-colored corduroy suit and an oversized white varsity jacket with Philipp Plein scrawled on the back looked like they had arrived from another show entirely.
Friday night's show at Milan's Allianz Cloud Stadium was just one sexy part of the fall offering. Plein said he has been trying to include more color in the collection, increase the proportion of women's clothing (it currently represents 40 percent) and bring men's and women's fashion closer together.
The business-minded designer said that in his stores, women have been buying men's clothing for themselves, so in the future “we want a theme, a color palette and to show the collections together in the stores,” Plein said, who greeted He was wearing a worn denim shirt with a large hole above the pocket, baggy cargo pants, and white sneakers.
Next year he hopes to put on the show at the new Plein hotel, in the historic Palazzo Melzi d'Eril building on Via Manin, which formerly housed Krizia. The hotel will feature 18 rooms, La Jungle de Plein bistro restaurant, The Skull bar and a private cinema for small screenings, and no doubt a host of high-profile guests.
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