Philipp Plein Spring 2017

Philipp Plein, you have outdone yourself. His Spring ’17 spectacle in Milan, which he aptly called “Alice in Ghettoland,” was a leap through the hood’s rabbit hole: Fergie, Fat Joe (remember him?), Paris Hilton, a carnival swing ride, oversized roses and mushrooms, a shirtless landscaper, and a garden troll with “pimp” across his shirt are just a taste of what the German-born creative had in store. Shame on you, if you were surprised, though—last season Plein brought in a rollercoaster and before that he enlisted Rita Ora to emerge from a smoking car. Theatrics aside, the collection: chains on chains on chains, faded denim, track suits, knee-reaching (sometimes thigh-high) strappy sandals, loads of metallic gold embroidery, and wild prints, from animal to skulls to psychedelic. Essentially, it was a surreal gangsta’s paradise, and a noisy arrivederci to Italia before he moves his show to NYC next season.