Designed in-house following Marco De Vincenzo’s departure, Etro’s resort collection was unveiled in the showroom with a low-key presentation. Bohemian excess, decorative bravado, and flamboyant eccentricity appeared caught in a state of self-restraint. The maximalism that made Etro distinctive has been watered down to simple silhouettes, delicate pastel colors, and an unobtrusive take on the house’s codes. The signature paisley motifs, reiterated throughout, served as reminders of identity rather than catalysts for reinvention. For both men’s and women’s, they were rendered with a cautious hand, as though the brand’s exuberant vocabulary had been edited down to a series of polite footnotes.
One might call it a palate cleanser, and fashion occasionally benefits from one. Yet the impression was of a collection content to play the role of lemon sorbet: refreshing, uncomplicated, easy to consume, and gone almost as quickly as it arrived. Feminine and wearable, certainly, but not especially lingering on the memory. Restraint can be a convincing proposition when it serves to sharpen a point of view. Here, however, the point of view remained somewhat elusive. In dialing down the exuberance, Etro has found a quieter voice; whether it has found a more compelling one is another question entirely.
