Ports 1961’s spring collection came somewhat as a reboot for the brand, which had been absent from fashion week for a couple of years now. It also marked the first to be unveiled under new design director Francesco Bertolini, who joined the house studio in 2019 but was only recently formally appointed to the role.
The designer titled it “White Canvas,” and although he meant to reference human emotions stratifying over time, it actually opened up to many interpretations. Among them, Bertolini’s quest for a new brand identity, or at least an evolution of its codes – many of them not necessarily distinctive or universally known.
One fashion trope that surely brings to mind Ports 1961 is the white shirt, here reinvented primarily in shirtdress iterations, many of them, from the pristine white numbers with a pleated skirt or kimono-like sleeves to the subtly striped tunic version with buttons snaking asymmetrically around the body.
Unveiled inside the frescoed and stuccoed Palazzo Serbelloni, a great example of 18th century Milanese architecture, the collection displayed Bertolini’s knack for sharp precision in a slightly minimalist vein.
That came to the fore in the ivory tuxedo pantsuit featuring a top-half panel crafted from a Japanese paper fiber, or in the brand name-bearing selvage on the side of straight leg sartorial pants.
He added crafty and emotional touches via interesting textures, a showcase of Ports 1961’s handicraft, for example with strips of woven cotton knitted into an openweave sweater and pencil skirt ensemble that gleamed with a luxurious feel.
When adding unexpected flourishes, though, such as the leather or canvas detachable overskirts and the asymmetrical trenchcoats with eyelets around the hem, he went off-track.
They showed the vision for the new Ports 1961 woman is still in the making.
