These crystal earrings by Forte Forte and chainmail top by Paco Rabanne prove that is more is more
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s 1947 assertion that “less is more” – in his case, a reference to his rigorously minimal furniture – has since become the mantra of good taste, applied to everything from the inside of your home to the contents of your wardrobe. And, while there is a certain satisfaction to reducing one’s life to the barest of essentials, there is also plenty of joy to be sparked from doing the opposite, particularly as the seasons change – after all, how better to weather the winter months than succumbing to excess and abundance?
Julien Dossena is well versed in the joy of dressing up: at Paco Rabanne, his glinting chainmail gowns – a riff on Monsieur Rabanne’s own convention-breaking design, in chain-linked metal or shimmering pailettes – are the fashion equivalent of a disco ball, and demand to be marched to the nearest dancefloor. A place the France-born designer happens to know well: “My dad owned a nightclub, and hanging out there, I became obsessed with evening wear – it felt very Boogie Nights,” he recently told the New York Times. Here, captured by photographer Maxime Imbert and AnOther’s junior fashion editor Rebecca Perlmutar, a nightclub-ready chainmail top in black, gold and silver metallic sequins – taken from Dossena’s Autumn/Winter 2019 collection, it draws inspiration from Rabanne’s 1966 collection 12 Unwearable Dresses in Contemporary Materials, and feels as primed for the future as it did then.
Adopting the mantra “more is more” will naturally require a liberal use of accessories: few people do those better than Giada Forte of eponymous label Forte Forte (she runs the label alongside brother Paulo), whose magpie-like tendencies see her draw inspiration both from her native Italy and lands far beyond, for shoes, bags, and jewellery in a rich amalgam of material, colour and pattern. Or simply a pair of crystal drop earrings, the perfect accessory for those evenings guaranteed to last from dusk until dawn.
Hair: Kei Takano using Bumble and Bumble. Make-up: Fiona Gallagher. Model: Tao Quan at Wilhelmina. Casting: Julia Gilmour.
