The Tamesis
In Milan’s ultra-luxury retail ecosystem, Via Montenapoleone now has the same tourist appeal as the Duomo, but Carolina Castiglioni doesn’t play by the rules. Rather than join the velvet rope parade, she opened a cooler, more arts-driven space in nearby Via Manzoni, a street once synonymous with trendy bourgeois shopping, later dulled by banks and mid-range stores and now waiting for a comeback. Her Plan C collection is housed in a luscious red space anchored by a spiral staircase, while downstairs is a room dedicated to art installations, exhibitions, lectures, and other collaborative projects as she decides to dream up her next step.
Castiglioni is no stranger to artistic crossovers, coming from a family of collectors and art lovers, notably her mother Consuelo, the founder and former creative director of Marni, who put the brand on the international fashion map with her cerebral, artistic eccentricity. This season, Castiglioni teased her next creative alliance by presenting a lookbook in Franco Mazzucchelli’s oversized abstract inflatables. The Milan-based artist, who has been active since the 1960s, scatters his monumental works throughout the city as a form of public art, inviting passers-by to graffiti, paint and play on the artworks. Mazzucchelli will also soon be a guest artist at the Plan C store.
Over the years, Castiglioni has loosened the tight rein on the utilitarian, workwear style that marked her label’s early days. In its place is now a softer mood and a slicker sense of play, although her signature tomboy style remains intact. Still rooted in the push-pull relationship between masculine and feminine, she added a bourgeois sheen this season, flirting with a vintage ladylike chic and an ironic sense of formality that she calls a “couture vibe.”
Oversized bomber jackets were hung haphazardly over chunky mini slips in candy hues in crisp duchess fabric; an almost monastic black dress was trimmed with detachable feathers. Brooches were pinned to shearling shawls, while the sleeves of a rustic white shirt were tucked into dramatic opera gloves.
The collection features mostly unisex designs with softly sculpted silhouettes and a mix of styles, like a solid gray tailored bomber jacket whose masculine collar is complemented by ornate embroidery on the front trimmed with silver mirrored sequins. The clothes are utilitarian in nature but dressed up with a quirky sheen that captures a relaxed, artsy vibe that resonates with air of time.
