Casadei

In my review of Casadei’s Spring Summer 2022 collection I enthused at the colorful exuberance with which the brand celebrated the end of Covid. Deftly using new colors such as Nile Green and Optimistic Pink, Cesare created a set of lighthearted yet elegant looks perfect for the first summer of “normality. ” There were hiccups in the collection (I was particularly aghast at a pair of croc-inspired platforms) but I accounted for these as a natural product of the pent-up creativity and desire for experimentation that festered during lockdown.

The colorful exuberance returned for Fall/Winter 2022 but this time it found a far less captive audience. What was poignant last season seemed overplayed now, and the cheerful color palette that so impressed me was replaced by a more chaotic and aggressive one. Many of the boots felt too structured…too bold…inclined to dominate an aesthetic rather than compliment it. And, as if attempting to resuscitate one cringe-worthy trend from the first decade of the 2000’s wasn’t enough, last season’s crocs were followed by garish UGG-style boots. The furry boots, covered in splatters of tie-dye and accompanied by a set of equally hideous fur sandals, contained clashing notes of lime green, pink, and orange.

Experimentation didn’t work this season. While some ideas were promising (for example shoes inspired by the Tevas that Cesare frequently wore in his youth), the overall aesthetic lacked a distinct identity. However, there were some showstopping pieces. Cesare excels when returning to Casadei’s roots and adding modern twists to classic styles; that’s precisely what he did in designing a special shoe to commemorate the ten-year anniversary of the “blade. ” A vivid red crystal-covered stiletto was one of my favorite shoes from Milan this season; worth of the deadliest “femme fatale, ” it encapsulated everything Cesare referenced when he said he wanted “glamor…a shoe for girls to wear out at long last. ” I also loved a delicate pair of sandstone heels, fastened at the ankle by a bejeweled “tennis bracelet” that Cesare referred to as “a gift from your grandmother… something that you can always pull out of your closet to wear on any occasion. ” And the Donna (a brown heel with hunter style boot inserts) was both creative and classic.

Looking forward, I hope to see more nostalgia-inspired pieces from Casdei…and whimsical modern interpretations of classic pieces. Hopefully, however, the Croc and UGG references will remain firmly in 2022.

C A S A D E I