The Bally formula
“Dadaism was about a sense of play, and gentle subversion. What I’m looking for is finding equilibrium between rationality and whimsy.”
Bally was one of my MFW SS25 highlights. This is a masterclass in brand coding, when the pieces themselves are twisted classics rather than wholly avant-garde. Simone Bellotti knows the formula – simple pieces can be given romance, decadence, edginess etc with interesting casting, unexpected hair or makeup, memorable music (Bellotti worked with Swiss artist Aisha Devi on a bespoke soundtrack) and a clever incorporation of house codes.
Thus his new motif, the Swiss cowbell has become a recurring decorative feature on shoes and bags, he is building a recognisable colour palette of cool primaries with neutrals (black, brown), he is owning the Mary Jane, and the leather coat is becoming a new Bally wardrobe staple.
For SS25 Bellotti joined the rest of Milan giving us luxe everyday-wear in the form of understated suiting, structured sweats and tailored denim (belted with a rustic hammered shoe horn buckle). The collection took inspiration from an image of Dada art movement founder Hugo Ball, as well as rusted shoe horns and odd-shaped cowbells, hence an abundance of cocooning, slope-shouldered jackets and bell-skirted dresses.
The styling and casting team (Charlotte Collet, plus Ben Grimes, Silvia Macchioni and Tiago Martins) served up cool kids with bad-but-good hair-don’ts and styling that was focused, not laboured. When something looks this effortless you can guarantee a lot of work has gone into it.
WORDS: Disneyrollergirl / Navaz Batliwalla
IMAGES: Bally SS25
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