If Resort as a season typically finds brands doubling down on their least challenging, most retail-facing fare, then for Alyx’s pre-season debut it was a pleasure (albeit no shock, knowing designer Matthew Williams) to find the label sticking to the same guns that helped it to make the cut for the LVMH Prize shortlist, among other industry accolades. The cornerstone of this collection was a collaboration with Spidi, a family-owned Italian motorcycle gear business with about four decades under its belt; a staple of, for example, the Ducati racing team, it specializes in highly functional pieces that can save lives, like an airbag-equipped topper.
Williams’s commitment to authenticity was an idea he stressed back at a Fall preview, and it was an even more central thread this season. For Fall you had your Italian shirting, faultless Scottish suiting, et cetera; here Williams reimagined the dense topstitching and shoulder protectors of Spidi’s jackets in a street-ready mode. The industry flounders regularly enough in its bids for “realness” that, more often than not, such attempts don’t ring true, yielding weird approximations of functional things—“like a photocopy of something that’s real,” Williams says. Not so here. The Spidi jackets bore all the hallmarks of the real deal. Williams even reworked the insole of a killer, Road Warrior–esque moto boot so that it was ready to hit the pavement. Indeed, footwear could and should become a formidable category for Alyx; there’s not much on the market like what they’re doing. (Ardent admirers may recall last season’s glossy fuchsia, faintly Lynchian “diner seat” kicks.)
All that impenetrable—yes, nigh literally—cool of the performance-tinged Spidi styles found a counterpoint in the femininity of a black lace slip dress with big, spangly rhinestone straps. Lace, sparkle—it’s an ultra-amplified take on traditionally ladylike motifs, which, through Alyx’s lens, feel anything but (something underscored when the pieces are worn by the inimitable, boyishly sultry Drake Burnette).
With each new lineup Alyx hits its stride more and more. While it’s no secret that Williams knows his way around terrific oversize tailoring, Resort was a testament to his chops where leaner silhouettes are concerned, too. There were tough-looking waist cinchers which seemed to have been plucked straight off a pair of motor trousers. Best and most directional of all, though, was a sheeny, zip-front black jacket with inset rib-knit panels and a utilitarian-looking peplum. With its whittled waist and spare appeal, it recalled the iconic Bar jacket in a totally fresh light—a new New Look.
