Walking the Milan catwalks for the very first time, Isabel Benenato showed her AW18/19 collection, a memorable collaboration of knitwear and casual, neutral separates layered underneath winter outerwear.

Whereas Benenato states her inspiration comes from ‘travel to the planets’ like obscure Pluto and fiery Mars, we simply see a cool collection of menswear garments, with Asian silhouettes and perfect tailoring. A touch of avant-garde with voluminous shapes, the collection is still wearable — think black, brown and grey wool coats layered over t-shirts and baggy trousers. The collection also had womenswear, but the menswear was what really shone, in our humble opinion.

Long white threads were spotted throughout the collection, created to reflect the stars and constellations on the dark night sky.

Benenato also designed her own shoes, handcrafted in Italy. Both boots and derby styles walked the runway, and fit in effortlessly with the designs. Most of the outwear in the collection was woven on antique looms — scarves, coats, capes and more. The result is a mishmash of imperfect, artistic elements that create detail and edginess when paired with more neutral looks. Some of the looks were topped off by scaly, fish-skin accessories, creating depth and texture for the looks.

BDMOTP especially loved the oversize, long coats and winter touches like a beret cap or a long, heavy turtleneck knit sweater. The whole collection, while never losing its elegance, gave a whole new meaning to the Danish term ‘hygge’ which means cozy and comfortable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Words by Lori Zaino and photos by Isabel Benenato.