Alessandro Dell’Acqua kept a more pragmatic approach going for the Rochas Resort 2019 collection, with an ingrained sense of chic.

Dell’Acqua being an Italian designer with a penchant for the embellished hyper-feminine, the practical side was filtered through a slightly couture-ish lens, rounded off with a touch of modern opulence.

Resort’s opening look was again a double-breasted pantsuit, but it was complemented by a sumptuous cape in silk duchesse tied with a ribbon. The cape proved a versatile piece here, giving the collection a luxurious, impromptu twist. A black style was worn as a bell skirt over a golden brocade ensemble, and a flame red version blossomed underneath a densely textured floral jacquard jacket paired with a tight pencil skirt.

Throughout the collection, the play on elegant, flattering volumes was given substance by sumptuous fabrics like duchesse, taffeta, radzimir, and silk faille, cut into egg-shaped or kimono opera coats or long trapeze dresses. They were reminiscent of a certain polished couture look in vogue in the late 1960s. “I was thinking about Avedon’s photographs of that time,” Dell’Acqua said. “I wanted to capture that sense of absolute elegance, flawless and almost abstract.” To convey his message, the designer asked the striking Mame Thiane Camara to model the collection: “She looks as if she were a drawing, a silhouette sketched by hand on paper,” he remarked.