Etro - spring 2009

The ferns and fronds of the jungle-y backdrop apparently reflected the origins of the paisley pattern that made Etro’s fortune. Maybe it was the simple integrity of such a notion that freed Kean Etro from some of the twistier concepts he’s saddled himself with in recent seasons. If the subsequent show was a celebration of the pleasures of paisley—in shirts, shorts, flowing robes, even as stencils on the models’ skin—it was also the loosest, sexiest, most potent presentation that Etro has offered in a dog’s age.

There’s often been a tension in Kean’s collections between the riotous opulence of the colors and patterns and the somewhat uptight tailoring. Here, the Etro dandy had relaxed. There were still plenty of suits, but uptight was upended by crumpled linen and shiny silk. Suit trousers might be cargo pants. Or they would be belted with a scarf or tie. (There weren’t too many ties around necks.) The Etro buccaneer wore his gorgeous silk shirts unbuttoned to the waist, unless they came with a broderie anglaise-trimmed placket, in which case there wasn’t anything to button. Kean’s trawl through the Southeast Asia in his mind came back with the Burmese longyi (for when a sarong simply isn’t enough). Sounds like dress-up, but the show looked like a dozen reasons to feel good about the season.

by tim blanks

posted by ( s )