Spring / Summer 2022
Of all the places we could have gone with our Spring 2022 collection, there is none quite like the Villa Borsani, home of the architect Osvaldo Borsani, one of the greats of Italian Modernism.
Certainly, this midcentury villa would provide a lovely backdrop for all manner of fashion shoots. (Note the decorative parquet, marble and terrazzo floors; the Luciano Fontana fireplace. And don’t even get us started on the floating central staircase.) But for CÂLLAS, this house, and the man who designed and lived in it, holds particular significance.
Borsani pioneered some of the most iconic furniture designs of the 20th century (see his famed P32 armchair), manufacturing his handcrafted pieces in the factory he built on the site of his father’s former wood shop. Artisanal craftsmanship he proved could go hand in hand with mass production, classical with modernist. His tenants? Design with an original idea; fulfill a need.
CÂLLAS, we say with a certain pride, is manufactured in Soncino, also not very far from Milan. We are admittedly obsessive in our work. Our pattern makers lose sleep over armholes. We are regularly schooled in the principle of dressing with style rather than following the vagaries of fashion. (Milanese women, we believe, do this exceptionally well and without much fanfare.) We believe in rich materials and rational design. That things that are beautiful today, will still be beautiful tomorrow. Not coincidentally, our factory is powered by the sun and run by women. Make of that what you will.
We have attached a full lookbook of course but here are some highlights:
The Alex and Jane pants in laundered linen and cotton respectively (worn a size up for the ideal amount of slouch).
The Clelia blouse in silk (the perfect foil to our tomboyish Gaia pant).
The Elettra dress in crisp clean poplin and Franca in a floral print that just makes us smile.
Our signature silk twill scarf in a new Lago di Como edition.
Some CÂLLAS pieces are so perfectly useful and such a pleasure to wear — like the Romy sweater, the Olympia blouse and our already legendary Jules trousers — we have inducted them into our Permanent Collection. This means they are always on offer, though seasonally in new materials and colors. Women get attached to certain styles. Frankly, so do we. Speaking of which, why no one makes a truly classic trench coat anymore is beyond us. We have remedied that with the Anna.
In her wonderful portrait of Villa Borsani the New York Times, the writer Nancy Haas described the house as brainy and bold, but also sensual.
Now what woman wouldn’t want to be thought of just like that? Ecco la nuova collezione CÂLLAS Primavera Estate.
