Alyx Spring 2023 Menswear Collection

As Matthew Williams said straight-up straight afterwards, the derelict Franco Scarioni swimming pool was an appropriate venue because: “there’s a lot of skin in the dresses.” Not to mention the womenswear one-pieces and—in the noble spirit of equal opportunities skin-baring—an entirely equitable proportion of sheer knits, midriff-flashing hoodie scarves, and pants-only looks for men.

Another great reason to be here, al fresco, was that Williams felt super-comfortable—given especially that Covid rates are rising again—in inviting a much larger crowd than got to see last season’s first live Milan Alyx show. These included Chito—who sprayed the poolside in what Williams said was a surprise to him—plus 24kGoldn, gmoney, Remo Ruffini, Lucas Jagger (who came straight from Dsquared2), M24, and Martine Rose.

Wait, what, Martine Rose? Increasingly, watching shows this season feels like watching those Marvel movies that led up to Avengers: Endgame—except that instead of the MCU it is the LVFU (Louis Vuitton Fashion Universe) that keeps dropping storyboarded Easter Eggs and unexpected cut-scene adjacencies in order to preface a climax to come. And to then consider that both Williams tonight and Rose a few days ago used their runways to tease new Nike collabs? We’re in serious Den of (Fashion) Geek territory.

But anyway: as standalone episodes, Alyx shows now echo against the work he is doing at Givenchy—the top-tier LVMH Parisian franchise he scored thanks to much sterling work for Alyx in Milan in partnership with Luca Benini’s Slam Jam from 2015. The timing of that Givenchy appointment in June 2020 meant he could not show his work live until last October, which rather sucked the oxygen of impact from his arrival. This makes it easy to forget—and how so very quickly we do forget—the centrality and influence of Williams to the hype-heavy chest-rig and industrial hardware tactical-chic menswear moment that proved so prevalent around five years ago.

Such was their power that these motifs quickly became absorbed into the decorative lexicons of other, bigger houses—often through collaboration with Williams himself. Looking at today’s poolside Alyx it was interesting to consider—once you moved on from the skin—how comprehensively Williams has taken them out of his runway window (although there are plenty of roller coaster buckle belts available on the Alyx e-store).

Instead there were subtler details such as the origami pockets that featured in the tailoring in Alyx’s first standalone Paris show, here transferred to denim. The penultimate organza Big Bird minidress looked out of place in the rundown context, but would surely live happily within Givenchy’s long-mooted—but apparently deferred—Williams couture debut. Armless, raw-edged minimalist tailoring, long-hem moto leathers, zip-deconstructed jersey pieces, and a series of drawstring ruched minidresses were further evidence of Willams’ undoubted range and talent.