It’s about time to look at Ann Demeulemeester again. In its 90’s heyday the brand was among the coolest things coming out of Paris along with Martine Sitbon, Jean Colonna and Helmut Lang. Lots of black tailoring in stiff wools and leathers, flashes of white in ruffled shirts and a poetic rockstar look which was best exemplified by Patti Smith who often provided the soundtrack for the cult shows which were held in a church next to the Sorbonne with door goddess Michèle Montagne controlling the access herself. With its cult status long gone and Ann – after leaving in 2011- making collections of tableware, glassware, cutlery, and lighting now we need to come back to the subject of meaningful succession. Claudio Antonioli originally a boutique owner from Milan and co-founder of New Guards Group made serious money by selling New Guards to José Neves and Farfetch and fulfilled his dream of buying Ann Demeulemeester in 2020. After all he was one of the first to carry the label in Italy and a big fan from the start. He has now installed Stefano Gallici after a short stint by Ludovic de Saint Sernin which was a flop, and it seems that Gallici is finding his way now by making the brand more accessible mainly by meshing it a bit more with streetwear – the core of New Guards – which resulted in lots of washed denim and cool sweatshirts. And above all less black leather. While last year’s debut outing using cult model Kirsten Owen felt way too literal his young and fresh approach this time really worked, especially the light and white section of lingerie inspired looks a novelty for the brand. Let’s not forget that Gallici is not even 30 years old yet so to translate the rock goth darkness into a light summer youth culture moment is natural for him.