Spokeswoman for the infusion of cultures, British designer Grace Wales Bonner came to the Florentine trade show Pitti Uomo, where she is this season’s guest of honor, with a collection that stays true to her philosophy, blending African heritage and Italian Renaissance.
The Spring/Summer 2023 collection was presented in one of the oldest Medici palaces, the Palazzo Medici Riccardi, built in 1444 in Florence, which was once home of the patron of the arts Alessandro de’ Medici, known as the Black Prince of Florence, whose courtyard and walls are entirely covered – an installation by Ghanaian artist Ibrahim Mahama – with hand-stitched jute sacks once used to export cocoa from his native country to evoke a message of unity among the peoples of the world.
Between structure and fluidity, sport and elegance, masculinity and femininity, her effortless collection includes precisely cut black cashmere suits made in collaboration with Anderson & Sheppard, short jackets dotted with studs, baggy cargo pants worn under elongated dress shirts, futuristic sportswear, macramé womenswear dresses set with hand-made glass beads by Ghanaian artisans, coats made by Charvet in Paris, or t-shirts with prints reproducing works by American artist Kerry James Marshall.
Wales Bonner then pairs all of these looks with a plethora of accessories like zebra cowhide mules, snakeskin sandals, cheetah-print slip-ons, hand-stitched patent sneakers bearing macrame details, as well as new offerings from the latest iteration of her collaboration with adidas Originals.
©Wales Bonner
