SimplyAbuDhabi XIV

2 0 1 S I M P LY A B U DH A B I A key look is the two-piece suit comprising a five-button waistcoat with flat-fronted skinny-cut trousers that incorporate a leather belt. Trompe l’oeil techniques are used on jackets to create ‘false’ lapels inlaid on the fabric. Oversized trench coats in two lengths, small tailored knit blousons and several styles of hybrid shirt-jacket and jacket-shirt in velvet-soft nubuck leather complete the outerwear. The fabrics are lightweight for summer, but treated to simulate the textures of coarser, heavier textiles. Suits are made from Irish double linen; from raw Tussah silk woven into checked summer tweeds; and from Japanese indigo cotton yarn, bleached before being woven and then dyed to create boldly coloured drills with the tell-tale white diagonal of denim within the weave. ‘Second-skin silk’ has received a ceramic treatment to create a glossy surface; this soft, light, malleable fabric has a distinctively smooth touch, its finish providing additional functionality. Cottons and hemps are washed before being cut and constructed, ensuring an evenness and consistency to their softened finish. Textiles, jackets, sweaters and shirts are decorated with raffia print, a key motif of the season which emulates the texture of woven organic raffia or linen. The shoes, in an authentic bottier style, are inspired by the French municipal workers of the mid-20th century; they are two-tone with either buckles or laces, in baby calf or in lizard. For the eveningwear a key item is the Amalfi moccasin, a handmade summer loafer. Available in ten different colours and crafted from the finest ponyskin, its ultrasoft form is fully foldable. Weekend bags in hand-painted ponyskin and in ultralight baby calf, and document folders in hand-coloured lizard-skin, are key pieces in the accessories collection, while this season’s hat is a boater. The choice of colours featured by Berluti this season includes aubergine, sunflower yellow and oxblood in light and dark shades, mixed with blue, dark coffee and pale lilac. All in all, an incomparably stylish collection from Alessandro Sartori and the house of Berluti.