Philosophy di Lorenzo Serafini Pre-Fall 2023 Collection

Lorenzo Serafini has enjoyed watching Danny Boyle’s Pistols, the Hulu miniseries about the Sex Pistols’s rise to fame. “It brought me back to that atmosphere of romantic punk,” he said. Sid and Nancy’s dark romance has always fascinated him, and adding a gentle vibe of goth has sometimes rectified his collections’ sweet undertones.

Serafini didn’t go didactic, as he believes that today it doesn’t really make sense to reference decades too literally. “Everything is a métissage, a mélange of genres, and young generations see fashion’s past filtered by tv series, or movies, or the narration on social media,” he explained. “They have a perception of style more as a mood, a vibe, an atmosphere, certainly not as something nostalgic they’ve experienced firsthand.”

Opting for the eclectic route, Serafini gave his trademark romantic silhouette a sleeker twist, using stretch to make slinkier shapes more comfortable. Moving away from the oversize without lessening freedom of movement was also one if his concerns, as he wanted to keep the contours sensual and “outlined as a drawing,” he said, while making things too overtly body-con. A babydoll minidress with delicate lace details was layered over bellbottoms in stretch see-through mesh, while a white portrait collar gave a sinuous midi-dress in black stretch velvet a chic, cool twist.

Playing on contrasting notes, a tailored black pantsuit featured a cropped blazer with straps wrapping around the midriff and low-slung trousers, while Serafini’s affection for romantic punk was highlighted in the red-on-white print of a poet shirt referencing Sex Pistols graphics, and in the tight-fitting black stretch lace numbers that hinted at a sexy undercurrent and provocative attitude.