It’s been a while since we’ve last seen Stefano Pilati’s big ideas in the context of a big catwalk show. The designer, whose last grand fashion house stint was as the head of design Ermenegildo Zegna from which he departed in 2016, has since launched (and ran) his own label via Instagram, a move a lot of his peers would probably disregard. After last night’s show though, it’s clear that Random Identities is not just a passion project – it’s something Pilati was meant to be doing from the very beginning.
A free zone of self-expression, the Random Identities AW20 show was his opportunity to elevate ideas of Berlin’s style which have become recognisable all over the world. Pilati’s current home is known for its rough and tough, erotic approach to dressing, into which he injected his own heightened understanding of garment-making that comes with decades of experience. With distorted pop Whitney Houston megamix of I’m every woman and It’s not right but it’s okay, Pilati provided us with the bougiest wardrobe a 24-hour raver in Berghain can imagine. The random in the Random Identities was showcased in the stark contrasts of his pairings. Jackets might have been tailored to absolute perfection, with subtle details that made them classic Pilati, but the hems on the trousers were left completely raw and dragging behind the chunky suede ankle boots, as well as the special collab leopard-print Birkenstocks and light-up LED Li-Ning trainers. Don’t you go raving in a fine charcoal grey wool jumper? Well now you will. Stefano Pilati designs for his own group of friends, most of which walked in the show. And closing it was the designer himself, in a chunky beige coat with a smouldering look on his face. This is how you do Pitti Uomo.
Photographs by Jason-Lloyd Evans.
