While most designers' mood boards are adorned with images of cryptic artworks or intellectual references to literary figures (a recent trend), Daniel Del Core's features shots of strange vegetation species, unusual blooms, and intricate foliage from the botanical underworld that he took in the Amazon. 
Del Core's extravagant distillation of naturalia, elements of the fantasy genre, and theatrical flourishes rendered via elaborate couture techniques features fungi, mycelium, and algae prominently as aesthetic templates in what he calls'mutant glamour,' his extravagant distillation of naturalia, elements of the fantasy genre, and theatrical flourishes rendered via elaborate couture techniques. "I can sit in front of a flower for hours and attempt to translate its shape into a silhouette, a fan-pleated ruffle, or the altered proportion of a dress," he remarked during an appointment at his Milan atelier, where young artisans and tailors were hard at work bringing his ideas to life.
Del Core approached his first pre-fall performance as an exercise in concision and reduction, dialing down his flamboyance without straying too far from the inventive flare that defines his discography. Abstract Zero was the name of the collection, which was meant to be a compilation or summation of the label's basics, filtered off the runway and translated for the everyday. 
A rounded ruched sleeve, which had operatic proportions in the show, appeared kinder here on a sleek fitted coat or a knitted minidress. On a silver evening gown and a flame red lace intarsia'd chiffon number, fan-pleated elements inspired by the fleshy petals of wild orchids found on a couture outfit were given attenuated allure. The crimson ensemble was completed with a suitably deformed face mask, which could have been designed by an experimental designer.
Mushrooms are one of the designer's botanical obsessions, as they're emblems of metamorphosis and facilitators of transformation, and they're having a moment as a natural source from which to develop a sustainable alternative to animal leather. They were used as the collection's major decorative motif, which was translated into a jacquard design on a sartorial bomber and replicated on flimsy lace for a billowy dress, or needle-punched on knitted lurex jumpers.
A vibrant abstract design printed on a vertically cut quilted coat or a silk blouse with loose trailing panels added a splash of color to the mostly autumnal tone.
Del Core is honing his high-end vision and skills, which he gained working in Beirut alongside Zuhair Murad and as a VIP designer for Gucci's Alessandro Michele, with two promising collections under his credit. Presenting a condensed, tightly edited pre-fall collection (or Abstract, as he prefers to call it) appears to be a wise move, not only from a business standpoint but also from a creative standpoint, as it allows him to focus on the catwalk collections without sacrificing their visual impact or virtuoso execution.