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When the Italian film actress Monica Vitti passed away aged 90 earlier this month, Instagram was awash with film stills and publicity shots from her iconic ‘60s films. Many of them came from L’Avventura and La Notte, Vitti’s collaborations with the great filmmaker Michelangelo Antonioni. Those two films make up the famous ‘trilogy on modernity and its discontents’, masterpieces of European cinema that came to define their decade. Vitti, with her peroxide lob, winged eyeliner, and famous Italian pout, instantly became one of the most enduring icons of the silver screen.
It was poignant, then, that Vitti’s performances in L’Avventura and La Notte were the key references on New Zealand/British designer Emilia Wickstead’s moodboard for fall winter 2022. Wickstead had finished designing the collection before Vitti’s passing, and the end result felt like a fitting homage. “I’m passionate about Michelangelo Antonioni’s films… and this season I focused on the women,” the designer told WWD. This extended to the presentation itself—a digital film with a backdrop inspired by the checkerboard that appears in La Notte. That checkerboard print also appeared in the collection, printed onto sleek strapless evening gowns in an unexpected combination of chocolate and cornflower blue.
Rather than present a traditional runway show, Wickstead held appointments in the Ritz hotel in Mayfair, a fitting setting for a brand committed to unapologetic, understated luxury. The decision feels meaningful. Wickstead has always been a designer who prefers to whisper, not shout. Her collections are beloved by in-the-know industry insiders who are obsessed by her minimalist eveningwear and perfectly-tailored suiting. This season, these staple silhouettes were revamped with fresh colourways and new cuts: men’s-style suiting in a commanding shade of blood red, a magenta cape dress delicately crafted with 3-D lace overlays, an A-line duchesse satin skirt in fresh pea green.
With a famously meticulous attention to detail, Wickstead’s pieces sing when viewed up close. A jacquard-print evening dress with a ‘50s-style poodle skirt is balanced with blink-and-you’ll-miss-them side cut outs. A strapless gown is elevated with matching opera gloves, cut at the exact right part of the arm. A sharp woolen skirt suit becomes hyper-modern with an unexpected side-slit. It’s that balance between modernity and classicism, newness and tradition, that makes Emilia Wickstead one of the most well-established names on the London Fashion Week circuit. Watching FW ‘22 unfold, you couldn’t help but imagine a young Monica Vitti in each piece. What greater compliment could you pay a designer?
