“Although Dell'Acqua's collection served up sophisticated, trend-aware clothes on the half shell, as it were, the suspense on the retail end remains: Sure there are pearls (and purls) to be found here, but will the fashion-forward customer think to look for them at Malo?”

“Malo has seen several designers pass through its creative turnstile in the past few years, and in spring it bid arrivederci to Tomaso Aquilano and Roberto Rimondi, who left to take up the reins at Ferré. The duo's departure was a creative blow for the brand, especially after the pair had hit their stride design-wise. Cut to Malo's spring 2009 presentation and it was as if the label's new designer, Alessandro Dell'Acqua, wanted to demonstrate a shift in creative direction by wiping the slate clean. He did this in a literal sense, showing 12 versions of a polo shirt in a dozen shades of white. Grouped together, they made for a blank-looking visual, but examining the knits close-up revealed tricky details, like the paper-thin, double-sided linen model and the drop stitching on another design's squared-off shoulder.”