While designer Hanako Maeda usually centers her work on New York or her native Japan, pre-fall has Maeda taking her Adeam collection to the sun-drenched countryside of southern Italy, zeroing in on the chic ease of Italian Riviera dressing. “I really enjoy the south of Italy because I feel like it feels very relaxing,” Maeda said via Zoom from Japan. “I was really inspired by how a lot of vacationers are dressing as well because they feel like Italian fashion and Italian style feels a little bit more feminine.”
The designer used the theme to breathe a lighter, breezy vibe into her latest work, beginning with an off-the-shoulder top with straps paired with a billowing skirt, both using panels of fabric with different widths of green and white pinstripes, creating a trompe l’oeil effect. Maeda’s color palette was vibrant with citrus yellows and sunset reds straight out of a Fellini film, but fusing her Eastern sensibilities with the European destination.
Her signature cotton twills were a match for the humidity of the Italian summer, adding structure to shorts and asymmetrical summer separates. The feminine gaze of La Dolce Vita came to her knits, too, like her Nicoletta sweater in bright green with a shoulder cutout worn with pleated wide white pants. Other pieces, such as her mixed media cardigan in fine gauge knit with an organza panel, offered intriguing ways to style summer staples. While paying homage to Europe, these light summer pieces would work well throughout the season in any of the global capitals her customer is sure to frequent.
