By Lucas Pantoja

Milan, Italy — A quirky spectacle of Milanese funk was the overall tone set for the Arthur Arbesser fall 2020 collection as a barrage of dynamic prints and ironic-bourgeois looks bounced down the concrete runway. The remote location surrounded by gray-italo-industrial warehouses served as a fitting space to present the collection notably inspired by the hidden appeal of Milan.

Arthur Arbesser’s straight silhouette met an autumn color palette consisting of warm burgundy, milk white, black velvet, and tonal browns. Standing out within the collection was a tasty assemblage of mohair knits featuring the Austrian designer’s signature checkerboard pattern. The grungy knit in various designs paired well with sizable scarves that could easily serve as an emergency blanket. An earthy brown scarf laid well atop a multi-patterned dress on a model whose lackadaisical attitude was Winehouse resembling.

The collection’s finer aspects were touches of tailoring and sharp masculine shapes which showed in the boxiness of the suiting and shirting. A marble print produced in shades of violet, indigo, and orange dazzled when juxtaposed against white garments, as if they were canvased and paint splattered by an artist.

Eye-catching accessories were the puffy berets resembling the headgear one might observe on a nobleman in a renaissance painting. And the side-bag created in collaboration with Milanese leather goods house Valextra. The footwear was fine, not diverging from the same 70’s-esc buckled platforms, but more modern in color and scheme.      

The most notable aspect of the collection, and the spirit of its intrigue, lay in Arbesser’s collaboration with objects and interior designer Marco Guazzini. Through the collaboration between the two design talents emerged a collection of plates which served as prints for the garments. The collaborative effort didn’t stop there but went deep into the innovation of fabrics with Marwoolus, a wool-fabric invented by Marco Guazzini. Marwoolus is a combination of Pietrasanta marble dust and Prato wool. Guazzini uses the precious material to create unique, one-of-a-kind design objects.

The intrinsic design element courtesy of Guazzini combined with the natural wit of Arbesser’s fashion designs and accessories resulted in a particular kind of snobbiness that is both goofy and sophisticated, vieux riche and nouveau riche.

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Arbesser’s latest woman has clear ties to old-money and may very well be a native of Milan. She prefers to spend her time at Vitra shopping for furniture rather than fill her already overflowing wardrobe with more expensive garms. Don’t let that be misleading though, as she has a shopping problem. But she is over the trendiness of fashion and onto new ways to exert her ever-sophisticated taste (oh brother).

More articles by Lucas Pantoja.

I’m just a guy from Virginia who enjoys writing about clothes. Currently studying creative direction at The Istituto Marangoni in Milan, Italy.