Jannik Wikkelsø Davidsen said backstage at his fall show that he aimed to inject softness in this collection, easing the gritty and dark-tinged aesthetic he usually channels. Yet his intent didn’t quite come across.
In sync with previous efforts, the show triggered a discomforting feeling but lacked energy. Models strolled eerily and slow-paced down the runway, their gowns aspiring to couture level often cumbersome and worn with metal frames molded around the torso.
A couple of numbers were catsuits with bodices sprouting petal-like flounces that framed, and party obscured, the face; crinoline gowns bounced messily at every stride and came with coat-like tops with plunging necklines; mermaid skirts with long trails where too heavy to handle.
As many in Milan, he offered his take on power dressing via boxy tailoring that featured rounded shoulders, but were the width of a front door, or were framed in other renditions of the metal tubes.
Against all this odd fashion, a neat leather bomber jacket and pant combo looked refreshingly ordinary.