Plan C is maturing. The brainchild of designer Carolina Castiglioni has reached its sixth year, deepening the offering and making it more attractive – after all, there is beauty in growing older. The expanded collection now includes menswear, shoes, bags and jewelry, all in line with the utility-chic look.
Despite her well-bred reticence, Castiglioni is quite clear about what she wants. Although she has softened her strict workwear-inspired design by introducing some more feminine touches, she remains true to her personal style. She likes boyish, simple and functional.
Building on her repertoire, she broadened the menswear range (presented for the first time last season at Pitti) by designing identical styles for both genders, making adjustments only in sizing and fabric choice. Choose a classic carpenter’s jacket, crafted from high-quality wax-coated canvas for men, and reimagined in soft pink duchesse satin for women. The jacket was lengthened into a trench coat with spacious square pockets and given a softer, more feminine look with the addition of a removable marabou feather border along the front. One of the highlights of the collection – a long gray pleated skirt in grisaille – had the same fluffy accent. It was paired with a geometric jacquard sweater in matching shades that Castiglioni tucked into the waistband of the skirt with the necessary nonchalance.
Castiglioni’s creative spirit and love of contemporary art are well represented by her use of a bold block color palette. For outerwear, she chose dark shades such as black and deep brown for the exterior, which she contrasted with pastel accents on sweaters, removable zip-up bibs and crisp nylon hoods. She also tried more elegant designs, while maintaining her preference for neat, architectural forms. An example of this was a sober but flowing burgundy dress with capelet sleeves that can be transformed into a scarf to tie around the neck, next to a dramatic black cape: Plan C is going to a soirée at La Scala.