Before being handed the reins at Ann Demeulemeester in 2023, Stefano Gallici—still shy of 30—cut his teeth briefly interning under Haider Ackermann in Antwerp. Call it karma, Antwerp was in the cards. He’s now the heir to the queen of the legendary Antwerp Six, stepping into her ’90s legacy of poetic, elegant grit. Demeulemeester’s signature was always more than fashion; it was a mood, a sound. Through her bond with Patti Smith, she channeled a kind of raw, androgynous, sonic minimalism. Gallici seems to get it — his high-wired bohemia pulses with the frequency of today’s music communities. Rumor has it, he and Demeulemeester trade playlists.

Gallici is bookish and cool, quoting Kerouac and waxing poetic about West Coast literature; he has also studied the playbook, and he’s rewriting it in his own ink. Respectful of the archive, yes, but not quite reverent. He’s got the future wide open, and enough swagger to leave his mark. The ’90s three-piece silhouette that cemented Demeulemeester’s place in fashion’s hall of fame has been reimagined more than replicated. Lines are still slender and layered, but structure is more deliberate, with a sense of both control and abandon. Tailoring is now softly oversized, but precise; black and white still has pride of place, but is counterbalanced by a subtle palette of sage, powder pink, and beige. Dévoré velvet calls for romance. Denim, bombers, varsity jackets, bikers, and perfectos are folded into the mix. A wardrobe for the tribes Gallici runs with. “For Ann, it was the pulse of late-’70s East Coast—CBGB, Max’s Kansas City, that downtown grit,” Gallici says. “For me, it’s West Coast—Beat poets, San Francisco, Morrison, Ginsberg, Neal Cassady. That’s my language.” He’s definitely riffing on his own tempo.