Vivetta RTW Fall 2023
Vivetta Ponti may be living, working and raising a family in the 2020s, but she’s also alive and thriving in a whole other decade: the ‘60s.
“I was listening to the Shangri-Las when I was designing this collection. That’s where it all started, with the Weiss sisters and the Ganser sisters who formed the group,” said Ponti, who twisted, sliced and reworked popular styles from the era for this whimsical, and sometimes kooky, collection.
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She riffed on the baby-doll dress, the quilted bed jacket and the Mary Jane shoe, stirring those styles together with her signature masculine tailoring. Ponti may be inspired by the Swinging decade, but she also has a great affinity for classic menswear.
She poured it all into her cocktail shaker and served up short, lace-edged baby-doll dresses; knitted tights in nursery shades of baby blue, sugary pink and white, and Mary Janes with big bows picked out in crystals.
Ponti worked those quilted jackets into short, trapeze nightgown dresses with bows at the shoulder and matching lace shorts, and short, asymmetric skirts adorned with lace-edged jacket collars.
Some of it was cute, although at times all the layers and lace and bows looked messy. The cleaner looks were the best, including the short red velvet cape that opened the show; the easy shirtdresses and long poet’s blouses with ruffle details, and the trenches with crystal bow embroidery.
Ponti has a wonderful sense of fantasy, and her shows are refreshing in a town synonymous with fine tailoring and the classics. Her unconventional take on fashion doesn’t always hit the mark, but it’s fun to tune in and watch her live the retro dream.
Launch Gallery: Vivetta RTW Fall 2023
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