Review by Lucas Pantoja
It’s not unusual to find music inspiring fashion, often times we find the two bouncing off one another as a reflection of different subcultures. Typically, we don’t have fashion shows without an accompanied soundtrack anyways. But there are some bands and subcultures that we find recurring in fashion, having impacts on some of our favorite designers — one of those bands is the post-punk innovators known as ‘Joy Division’.
They’ve notably inspired designers from Jun Takahashi to Raf Simons, and now they’ve inspired Italian designer Isabel Benenato’s Fall/Winter 2019 collection. The collection was influenced specifically by the band’s album Closer as well as The Cure’s Pornography, and the post-punk movement in general.
Within the collection we find darkness takes over as Benenato channels Charles Baudelaire’s transformation of evil into beauty — lose hanging, rugged knitwear swayed down the runway accompanied by black silky tailoring, and models with the stone cold look of death in their faces.
Notable materials include silk, wool, and a plush velvet that can be seen in some very stylish blazers. Besides various interpretations of black; white and red dominate what’s left of the collection. The real eye catcher that can be found is Benenato’s rigorous approach to knits; with long threads hanging low, and torn deconstruction creating a violent, yet elegant look to the garments.
In addition to the clothes, silver bling and precious crystals crafted by Italian jewelry designer Alberto Gallinari inhabit the various looks. The kinds of pieces you might see on a Marilyn Manson type.
Whether black is the uniform or flagrant colors just aren’t the mood in 2019, Isabel Benenato’s got you covered for all the goth fashion to suit your needs.
The Fashion Plate Magazine 