What would teenage Stefano Gallici—growing up in Teor, Italy, where he played in a band, wrote in a journal, and drew on his jeans—think if he had been told he would one day become the creative director of Ann Demeulemeester? A slightly older Gallici discovered the brand via his love for Patti Smith, who formed a close friendship with the Belgian designer and wore her clothes as well as anyone.
Gallici named this collection Dear Night Thoughts, which was how he began his journal entries all those years ago. Inside the darkened space of the Couvent des Cordeliers, which was Ann’s longtime venue before she stepped away in 2013, the vibe was correspondingly nocturnal, as Kaya Wilkins and Oli Burslem, the duo known as Beguiling Junior, prefaced the show with a moody performance.
It has been fascinating to watch how, with each successive season, more and more guests come decked out in AD, proof that Gallici is doing something right. Since taking the helm in 2023, he seems to have made a kind of wager that what the brand needed more than anything was a community—one attracting young, creative-minded types less concerned about the Ann-ness as it previously existed and more interested in how he puts a unique spin on rock-and-roll, romantic clothes.
“I like to create worlds in collision,” Gallici said ahead of the show. His lineup nodded to 19th-century dress, music festival fashion, and collegiate style, each look distressed to perfection. Leathers were treated to appear rusted over; braided gold trims down the sides of denim were deliberately shredded; uniform pants had been cut into shorts with pleated lining exposed; varsity sweaters, now transformed into dresses, were meticulously tattered. Ruffles spilled out from collars and cuffs; lace underskirts qualified as going-out attire when worn with high-tops or biker boots; and extra-long laces emphasized the un-doneness—a ubiquitous Demeulemeester flourish.
“For young generations getting into this brand, I want to create for them a sense of belonging,” he said. Yet aging rockers are welcome too: Spotted in the front row was Led Zeppelin legend Jimmy Page, while Billy Idol convincingly strode the runway in a fringed leather cape.
Like Ann, Gallici is an admirer of the famously rebellious French poet Arthur Rimbaud, who surfaced in a blurry photo plus a portrait sketched by the designer himself. “There are those authors who age with you, and you will have a different interpretation at different stages of your life,” he said, as keen to discuss literature as fashion (Allen Ginsberg’s voice was layered into the soundtrack). “I always say I don’t want to be nostalgic in my approach, because I think it’s a scary weapon, especially inside a brand like this. It’s more like a sort of projection.” Those AD badges on blazer pockets represented one of many divergences, yet Gallici has definitely found his stride.