GEOMETRIES BETWEEN INSTINCT AND RATIONALISM: PIERRE-LOUIS MASCIA S/S 2018

Let’s fantasize a little. Imagine Walter Gropius, founder of the Bauhaus, embarking on a journey to a country known for its strong colors, for its bold, persistent flavors, such as India or, closer to us, Morocco or even, southern Italy. Watch him as he explores the souks, the spice markets, the cafes, the bright and seductive colors of the saris worn by Indian women. But above all, try to interpret what he is looking at in his perspective, that of a man of minimalism, made of pure lines and, in some ways, perfect. Probably he imagines how to combine these new stimuli in his aesthetic idea, going so to polish those traits sometimes considered rough, cold, especially from the nostalgic critics of the liberty period. Here, now think of Pierre-Louis Mascia, while he was thinking and writing this story, to tell it in his clothes made for the summer of 2018.

The dichotomy between an abundance of prints, colors, and rational lines is not a real novelty for the French designer. However, the most interesting aspect is how he managed to combine important tints and different nuances, sometimes even changing – thanks to the use of materials such as nylon, for k-way, and silk, on shirts – with at the same time irreverent and precise combinations, punctual. There is no shortage of seersucker cottons, a must during the hot season. A patchwork of futuristic geometries congenial to the elegance and the distinctive trait that has always distinguished the brand since its foundation in 2007. Avoiding, so, to fall into the obviousness (and sometimes ugliness) of summer tribal prints.

In this creative cauldron, scarves are essentials, and now iconic, both for him and for her, to wear for a tea in the desert or to rest on the shoulders during the sparkling nights of the French Riviera. And speaking of the sea, it is worth mentioning the swimsuit for man who, if on the one hand corresponds to the archetype of the shorts-boxer as regards the form and its basic function, on the other it becomes a real garment to wear even outside the seaside borders. Great for an aperitif at sunset, perhaps accompanied by a caftan, for her.

And like his line, Pierre-Luois Mascia, now at Pitti Uomo (Florence) with the collection for next winter, has always been a reality of silent fashion, at the level of rumors and spectacularization, and at the same time disruptive, devoid enough of that trends bulimia that remains in the industry, but full of ingenious resources. Free, unique. And we hope for a lot.