Ottolinger’s 10th anniversary arrives in January. That decade of world building was honored with a poignant note left on each seat, in which Christa Bösch thanked Cosima Gadient for being “my friend, my partner in crime and my Otto… I couldn’t imagine doing this without you.”
Backstage before the show, the Swiss duo described their spring collection as “trippy chic,” based on deconstructing and revisiting contradictory elements and somehow bringing it all back together in a way that reflects their personalities.
“We were talking about how we create things and decode them and find freedom in play, so this is about how we dress ourselves,” said Cosima as Christa completed the thought: “It’s not like you can be in a bikini all day.”
On the runway, the designers’ familiar body-skimming moto pants were now worked in non-stretch fabrics like white silk, prompting them to splice the look at the crotch with a stretchier fabric in black. The result was a none-too-subtle X-marks-the-spot that helped edge these trousers closer to the versatility of leather or denim.
Overall, looks were more covered-up than usual for Ottolinger, with the occasional detour into boxy suiting and uncharacteristically muted colorways. Even so, several pieces looked plenty sensual as well as wearable, among them a ruched, corseted black halter top and a couple of biker jackets. The trippy part came mostly via printed dresses and blouses in earthy hues, some accented with neoprene harnesses that are likely to be catnip to Ottolinger’s base. In a first for the brand, the designers also rustled up a few vintage bridal gowns and reworked them into something less suited for a walk down the aisle than jumping the velvet rope on the underground scene.
Speaking of pairings, a capsule collaboration with Tinder produced a couple of “I’m With Otto” T-shirts; the duo also teased an upcoming partnership with the Swiss outerwear brand Mammut with modular coat-sleeve-backpack numbers.