Missoni's Gender-Neutral Spring Summer 2020 Runway: Paris Fashion Week

Originally written for Reverie: Page Magazine

Angelia Missoni unveiled her spring show at the Bagni Misteriosi, a giant public pool in the Porta Romana neighborhood of Milan, with over 1,000 guests. Summer brings excitement; a feeling of carelessness sets in, if only for a little while. Who doesn't want to have a summer fling or an adventure? Angelia's idea of summer is anything but simple. Her childhood memories of summer-inspired her to capture nature in the pattering, making that cascade throughout this collection.

Freewheeling, effervescent, and joyous by definition. Angelia put together an inspiring collection that gives homage to androgyny. As fashion is now being inspired by gender-neutral ideology. Mission is, of course, ahead of the curve, being the first fashion house to design gender-neutral clothing for couples.

"Where I started was this idea of a man and a woman—a couple—exchanging clothes. That couple—who was in my brain from when I was a young teenager—was Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin. She was getting clothes from his wardrobe; he was getting pieces from her."

Sustainable brands like Mission are pioneering new ways of dressing without boundaries of patterns, shapes, and colors. The mix of everything is dematerialized by the weightless textures and light colors. Her dresses bare the shoulders, flow, swarm in printed layers; his tailored jackets are ombre, his shirts knitted, his spirit is informal. They exchange prints, patterns, and textures, making borders thin or completely useless. She steals a suit, maybe just the waistcoat or a pair of slippers; he indulges in a caftan, in the glittering of lurex. Summer turns into an effortless way to represent oneself.