Petra Collins' Gothic Sirens Star In Blumarine's S/S 23 Campaign
In Fall 2021, designer Nicola Brognano re-introduced Blumarine to the fashion world at unarguably the perfect time around the resurgence of Y2K. Reimagining the fabulous fashions of The Simple Life stars Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie, the brand has fuelled nostalgic fantasies of rolling up to parties at Sexy Fish with freshly blown out platinum locks. For the Italian brand’s S/S 23 campaign, long-time collaborator and visual artist Petra Collins served catch of the day with her underwater imagery.
Blumarine describes the images as a 'story with a gothic and romantic soul, a fairy tale about modern, dark mermaids.. the woman is not only sexy and mischievous but also strong, determined.’ While Brognano’s Y2K-inspired collections have playfully reimagined the party girl aesthetic of the time, for S/S 23 he’s looked to the grungier side of the early 00s with gothic accessories like oversized crosses and studded embellishments. Still, the collection featured no shortage of low-rise stone-washed jeans, barely-there party dresses, comedically tiny handbags and sexy reworked denim.
Following her cinematic campaign for the brand’s A/W 22 collection, Collins takes a similarly twisted take on femininity with her latest exploration of the brand. Reminiscent of Collins’ fetish fantasy photography book Fairytales featuring Euphoria star Alexa Demie, the campaign flirts between concepts of folklore, divine femininity and sentimentality, presenting models suspended in water surrounding a comfortingly homely space, rocking classic Blumarine garb. Brognano’s fresh and spirited garments are the perfect juxtaposition to Collins’ dream-like, ethereal world, with their continued collaboration leaving us yearning for more.