Bally named their Fall 2021 collection—which debuted overnight as part of the official Milan Fashion Week schedule—’Legacy Continua,’ a natural fit for a brand with a legacy as storied as theirs. Founded in 1851, Bally is one of the oldest luxury leather goods brands to show on the fashion calendar, retaining a remarkable degree of cultural relevance after 170 years in the business.
This collection was refreshingly concise—10 womenswear looks, 10 menswear looks, alongside a sizeable handful of chic accessories. Highlights from the women’s collection included a belted monogram trench coat with leather shoulder details and a patchwork leather coat dress. Silk headscarves and oversized rectangular sunglasses gave nods to the kind of 50s Italian glamour embodied by Elizabeth Taylor and Jackie Onassis while holidaying in Saint Tropez.
Of course, Bally’s bread and butter are handbags and shoes. On the latter front, chunky platform heels with horse-bit detailing and chunky, below-the-knee lace-up boots, and buckled Mary Janes were standouts. On the former, we saw the brand’s signature ‘Stripe’ bag re-interpreted in an Andres-inspired shade of red and finished with a new embossed monogram.
The collection also marked an increased focus on sustainability for the brand—including the use of jerseys printed with natural pomegranate dye, the appearance of handbags made in vegetable leather, and the complete eradication of PVC (replaced with regenerated leather). This comes a year after Bally launched the ‘Peak Outlook Foundation,’ a nonprofit focusing on the preservation of mountains, a nod to their Swiss roots.
