Romeo Gigli

While working in Drexel's Historic Costume Collection, I recently learned about the late 80s, early 90s designs of Romeo Gigli, and; I was fascinated by his ideas of layering such luxurious separates. He often used changeable silks, appearing iridescent, for pants, button down shirts, blazers and shoes. He offered crop tops to go over baggy tent shirts or to be worn with high-waisted bottoms. He used menswear tailoring, exotic materials (like antique buttons from India, or cloths made from pineapples), and an artistic sense of color. A collection of his separates is truly inspiring. It's so sad that he has lost control of the collection bearing his name.

Here's some of his clothing:


Autumn / Winter 1987


Autumn / Winter 1990


Spring / Summer 1990


Autumn / Winter 1992


Autumn/Winter 1993

There's not so much of his work out there on the web. I found these images in the Style section of the International Herald Tribune's website. I would love to see one of his complete runway shows. The colors are just so beautiful and rich.

Recently, he began the clothing line, Io Ipse Idem. The latin phrase has some tongue-in-cheek reference to the collection's inability to be eponymous. And, I think it's going to be beautiful. I have a feeling that he's like a Ralph Rucci type, very much appreciated by few people, but really, very talented. I feel very lucky to have learned about him. I will definitely be keeping my eyes on the runways for this collection, and I'll be interested to see how his immaculately clean, yet super detail-oriented designs influence fashion this time around.


New Gigli, Io Ipse Idem


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