September 19, 2023 |
16Arlington’s AW23 collection was both a textural buffet and a feast of vibrant, exhilarating colour. The last two years has seen designer Marco Capaldo push the London label into new and exciting realms. First by moving beyond 16Arlington’s party-dressing routes, introducing a more sophisticated design palette without ever losing sight of the brand’s youthful edge. In the last two seasons, he has brought accessories into his arsenal – the brand’s Kikka bag is beloved amongst London editors – and has even launched a menswear arm of the business, too.
The collection unveiled this weekend was arguably Capaldo’s strongest outing to date. Inside a blank, North London showspace, snaking seats came printed with lines from David Lynch’s 1997 noir Lost Highway, as varying design techniques were purposefully proposed to trick the eye. Like aqua blue, milk white and crimson paillettes, which were not sequins but made from feather-light latex. Or the use of nylon so fine it resembled paper. There was a lot to marvel at here, like metal tops and skirts that jangled as models sauntered through the space, to big Seventies collars and power-shouldered trench coats. There was an air of kinkiness, too, particularly via ostrich plumes trapped within translucent, body-hugging dresses, and stilettos decorated with rubber bristles that danced as the models walked. Capaldo described his wardrobe as embodying a sense of adrenaline akin to that of a late night drive down a desolate highway. “It’s the freedom that comes with getting behind the wheel and just driving,” he says. In that case, speeding in the fast lane has never looked so chic.
Photography courtesy of 16 Arlington.
