Ilenia Durazzi is letting loose. The designer is gaining confidence as her brand increasingly scales up, as her fall 2024 collection proved by revealing a more eclectic side to her tailoring-filled world.
A sense of wildness ran through the lineup, which added a new flavor to the equestrian inspiration Durazzi has anchored the brand in and her razor-sharp sartorial hand.
Imagining a traveling theater troupe crossing snowy landscapes and desolate wintry deserts inspired the designer to experiment with crafty knits, their irregular surface enhanced by loose threads and hand-made techniques that injected a tactile quality into the overall graphic lines that mark her work.
Ditto for patchwork skirts that appeared next to Durazzi’s signature saddle-shaped ones, and performance textiles like waxed horsehair used in utility outerwear like raincoats and parkas. Leather takes on the outdoorsy theme were a standout.
Cut in slightly more relaxed fit lending a more urban appeal to coats and blazer jackets than usual, tailored pieces were embellished with braided leather inserts, too. The concept was also seen in a statement dress Durazzi said was a nod to stage costumes. The feminine, full skirt design was covered in paint brushstrokes that fit her dedication to the arts.
“Theater has become an obsession of mine; I’ve been after it a lot in these past two years and it really inspires me,” said Durazzi, who presented the collection in a three-part performance. To further explore different artistic disciplines, Durazzi is readying the opening of a new space in Milan, designed by her and aimed at being both the brand’s headquarters and an aggregation point for the city’s cultural community.
With her own tribe taking shape, her brand’s expansion and soon having a home, too, she has a lot to be confident about indeed.
