Philosophy Di Lorenzo Serafini’s “Bourgeois Bondage” A/W´23 Show

Titled Chic Érotique, Lorenzo Serafini’s autumn/winter 2023 Philosophy collection was all about being suggestive, finds Anders Christian Madsen at Milan Fashion Week.

The show continued Philosophy’s more mature new direction

Last season, Lorenzo Serafini decided to change up his direction at Philosophy, trading in the frilly girliness of seasons past for a stricter, less decorative and more sensual approach to the brand’s genetics. The collection he showed this season delved deeper into that sensibility. “We kept the mood of more woman rather than little girl,” he said before the show.

It was naughty bourgeois

Titled Chic Érotique, the show – set in the Rotonda della Besana – unfolded in a study of debauched bourgeois dressing. “We were thinking of these French movies like Histoire d’O and Belle de Jour, moving from something bourgeois into discovering the sensual side: the boudoir – or night – theme turned into dresses but they’re never too revealing,” Serafini explained.

It was all about being suggestive

The chic-girl-gone-bad premise, if you will, materialised in wrap and drape dresses that had a distinct air of bondage about them, but achieved the notion through soft construction that barely revealed any skin. Ditto vegan leather dresses (that looked impressively like the real thing), which managed to enter dominatrix territory with almost ladylike mid-century grace.

Tailoring was hourglass but never constricting

“They are very, very covered. You’re never naked. You’re never vulgar. That’s the balance I’ve tried to create,” Serafini said of his creations, which included an investigation into sculpted hourglass tailoring. It was the kind of silhouette you’d typically refer to as “strict”, but Serafini loosened and softened his construction without compromising the bustier-like line. “It’s very sensual. Slightly detached from the body but keeping the shape,” he said,

A latex flower was the key accessory

As it often does with the boudoir wardrobe, the icing on the cake came in the form of accessories. Specifically, boots so thigh high they entered hip territory, crafted in croc-embossed leather, that poked out from the slits of dresses. In their hands, models carried single latex flowers. “It’s as if they’re carrying it to their lover,” Serafini said.