
Philipp Plein, preppy?
It may sound like a shocker, but Plein sent out V-neck tennis sweaters with stripes, navy blazers with crests and all-white tailored suits, onto his shadowy, glitter ball runway on Saturday night. It was an homage, he said, to the pure, monochrome uniform of tennis players before Andre Agassi landed on the court dressed in neon, denim and Nike.
Plein took tennis, and its old-money, clubby world, as inspiration for the collection, which unfurled at his palazzo-turned-luxury-hotel, club and restaurant overlooking Milan’s lush public gardens, on the edge of Brera.
Once the runway part was over, Plein was preparing to serve up dinner and a show at Philipp’s Club & Restaurant, where a kilo of caviar fries with 24-karat gold flakes costs 4,500 euros (this is not a typo).
For guests willing to forgo the gold, there was also “The Pizza,” with a selection of toppings including lobster, caviar, black truffle and wagyu beef, for a more modest 1,400 euros. It also included a bottle of Dom Pérignon 2015.
The top of the menu read: “The Philipp’s Dinner Show, Enjoy Your F—king Dinner.” Nothing like dirty talk to whet the appetite. Buon appetito.
The menu didn’t offer the usual tennis club fare but, then, Plein has always lived large. Before the runway show, he told guests that in the face of a luxury downturn, “We are turning up the volume. We’re here to entertain, so stand up and dance when you want.”
Plein described his preppy, tennis-inspired clothing, which also included a white, woven leather trench, shorts and shirts, as “a completely new look for the brand.” He said he was channelling his memories of learning the game as a child, dressed in all-white kit and swinging a wooden racket.
Sweaters and jackets had “Plein Tennis Club” written in big, fancy script on the back, and a white track suit was plastered with a green tennis racket print. A silky baseball jacket dotted with sequins and colorful dollar signs was more Agassi than preppy.
The rest of the show brimmed with the usual Plein fare. There were sparkly minidresses and flippy skirts — in hot pink, canary yellow and rainbow ombré — some worn with thigh-high boots. Bum-skimming pink T-shirt dresses and sequin-studded jeans and tuxedo jackets jostled the white leather looks for attention.
Plein ended the show with his musician pal Rick Ross, singing the latter’s hit “Every Day I’m Hustlin’,” as they wandered among the preppies, showgirls and colorful characters during the finale. Because, everybody, even the ones peddling gold-flecked fries, have got to hustle for business these days.
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