Pierre Cardin creative director Rodrigo Basilicati-Cardin clutched to the codes of the house tightly, proposing Space Age looks for spring 2025.
The show started with some seriously out-of-this-world outfits in metallic blue, including a jumpsuit with a jodhpur silhouette and thigh cutouts, puffy white piping and an upturned-bowl shaped hat. So far, so retro-futuristic.
Stronger were later looks that could more easily slip into a modern wardrobe. Those were predominantly made out of recycled polyester, and had subtle texture and iridescence that worked well on an asymmetric cape dress, a slim pantsuit and a trapeze dress with tubing at the top.
Other more toned-down looks such as a strapless dress and gently rounded pouf skirt had potential. A sheer top-and-short combination captured that current trend in a wearable way, for example, as did a coffee-colored wool crepe column with sheer panels.
Basilicati-Cardin brought in a stable of young designers from around the world through the Pierre Cardin Young Designer Contest, and one could almost feel the tension between new ideas and the archives.
Moments such as models taking selfies of themselves walking down the runway and unusual styling with strips of physical therapy tape wiring limbs like circuits à la “Tron” seemed to be a commentary on our connected world, but taken together they did not add up to much.
The Pierre Cardin Museum is undergoing a revamp that Basilicati-Cardin hopes to complete by March, after which he will hone his retail strategy at the new flagship opened last December. That location is attracting a new, younger clientele, he said.
The appeal was enough to bring model Isabeli Fontana to the front row. Afterward she posed for photos, playfully demonstrating the hoop skirt which orbited her waist like Saturn’s rings.
We’re already a quarter into the 21st century and space travel seems much less glamorous (see: the stranded Starliner astronauts) and in need of an update. The Cardin collection took off, but didn’t quite land.
