Stefano Gallici, assuming the position of creative director at Ann Demeulemeester, recently graced the fashion world with a collection echoing the train clanks and industrial ambiance that swirled in the air during its revelation. The Spring 2024 collection is a dark yet enchanting narrative that beautifully encapsulates the brand’s storied journey, adorned with transitions and transformations. Ann Demeulemeester’s renowned signature of androgynous tailoring, alluring transparencies, and the iconic elongated white shirts are effortlessly woven into Gallici’s narrative, melding past inspirations with present innovations.
Gallici imprinted his vision on the brand’s legacy with an artful blend of sensitivity and boldness. He sways away from his predecessor, Ludovic de Saint Sernin, embarking on an odyssey characterized by an enriched, darker, and textured sensuality. Where bare skin once held the gaze, now, soft layerings and an unutterable grace command attention.
The catwalk bore witness to heavy leather belting, long ribbons that kissed the ground, and models whose decisive strut reverberated with an unspoken, yet palpable, confidence. Yet, the collection spoke to a deeper truth; an intimate dance of fabrics and silhouettes which proclaimed the brand’s rebirth whilst honoring its esteemed legacy. And amidst this revered evolution, pops of color and utilitarian-inflected territories manifested, signifying Gallici’s willingness to explore beyond established horizons.
Yet, the haunting melody of what could have been lingered in the air. The Spring 2024 collection, though compelling, beckoned for the poetic spark – an elemental touch that would breathe life and soul, fusing the tangible with the ethereal. Gallici, who joined Ann Demeulemeester in 2020, remained an enigmatic figure, and the fashion anxiously anticipates the unveiling of the depths of his creative soul.
In the lingering echoes of the show, a handwritten note posted on Gallici’s Instagram account proclaims a fresh manifesto: “The freedom to be as one wants, boundlessly. This is what Ann Demeulemeester stands for today.” With “awareness and respect, rather than deference and orthodoxy,” echoing as a mantra, we are reminded that the realms of fashion are forever evolving, ever-adaptive, and infinitely creative.
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© Photos: Ann Demeulemeester
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