Stefano Gallici’s fourth collection for Ann Demeulemeester Fall/Winter 2025 channels a restless spirit, fusing the brand’s dark romanticism with sun-baked Southwestern influences. Drawing on Georgia O’Keeffe’s asceticism and frugal Americana, Gallici creates a range that feels both rugged and introspective.
The runway pulsated with disheveled elegance: deconstructed tailoring in pinstripe wool stood alongside spidery knits and lace-trimmed satin slips. Raw-edged frock coats evoked Hasidic austerity, while shearling biker jackets had a weathered, nomadic quality. Gallici’s hand-scrawled silk prints – poems of longing – added intimacy to billowing dresses, their fragility contrasting with leather vests crisscrossed with laces.
A recent trip to Los Angeles seeped into the collection’s palette: rust, sand and ink-black dominated. Fringed bags, turquoise-studded belts, and miniature metal notebooks clipped to belt loops nodded to Southwestern craftsmanship. Collaborations with Ray-Ban resulted in sleek aviators anchored by beaded chains, bridging urban edge and prairie solitude.
Gallici’s fascination with imperfection shone through distressed denim and knit ponchos frayed like sun-bleached fabric. Strong collarless coats with exaggerated shoulders offset delicate lingerie-inspired layers, a tension between austerity and sensuality.
While Antwerp’s avant-garde legacy lingers, Gallici leans toward California’s free-spirited thrift culture. Models in cowboy boots and tarnished silver jewelry evoked indie musicians and reclusive artists, their outfits layered with a deliberate awkwardness. A gauzy white knit dress, its threads pulled loose, echoed the rawness of O’Keeffe’s desert isolation.
Maximalist touches – ruffled blouses under leather trenches, lace trim on wool pants – hinted at a broader appeal. But Gallici’s strength lies in restraint: the final looks, stark black tailoring with monastic lines, distilled the emotional core of the collection.
©Photo: Ann Demeulemeester