The Bally FW25 collection speaks to the chic outsiders, featuring distinctive details that make a statement with effortless elegance.
Bally seems to tell us that we cannot hide who we are—nor should we even want to. Leistung Aufführung, the name of the collection, plays with the conceptual duality of performance: Leistung refers to the drive for productivity while Aufführung embodies the meaning of performance as an artistic practice devoted to free self-expression.
The very location of the show, the recently renovated Torre Velasca, embodies this duality: Milan's first idea of a skyscraper and its only Brutalist building, so disruptive in its context yet once an hub of 70s office life. Those years are also reflected in the prints and colors, with acid green standing out among them.
The attention to detail, infused with strong conceptual depth, is typical of Simone Bellotti's intellectual approach. He masterfully balances the heritage of a brand that has existed since 1951 with more modern and trendy elements. On cotton bags, small wildflower motifs blend with archive images from the 50s, depicting Bally employees at their desks, surrounded by gifts and recognitions—perhaps as a sign of appreciation for their professional achievements.
On the runway, simple ideas were refreshed by proportions: men's navy suits featured special high button closures, or a sharply structured waist, sometimes defined by corset belts, a recurring accessory in the collection. The collection featured straight cut trousers, pencil skirts, but also disruptive elements such as sequin skull caps and peplums revealing white underpinnings and wild bursts of black, pink or acid green shearling that also interrupt formal tailored dresses and leather skirts.
This contrast between clean, rigorous lines and eccentric details also reflects the contradictions inherent in Swiss culture, perfectly encapsulated in a statement by Bellotti—who, despite being Italian, totally gets it: "I crave discipline, but breaking the routine is liberating."
The crowd was intimate and highly curated— just 100 selected guests, including Swiss performer Luciano Castelli, who inspired Bellotti's sequined looks and bold makeup. A patchwork of multicolored sequins elevate a skirt and a top, yet the notion of a full look gives way to a deliberately deconstructed styling approach that amplifies the play on contrasts. Models' faces were covered in glitter, creating once again a striking contrast, against sharply tailored black day dress with balloon skirt and a suit in wrinkled black leather.
In a scene still heavily dominated by quiet luxury and working culture, and especially in a city where the motto is fatturare (to grind), Bally definitely found a way to bring rigor into dialogue with self-expression, creating a performance that is both efficient and spontaneous.
