MILAN — Normcore is sweeping again through fashion, with cool wardrobe-builders and throw-on separates taking center stage on the autumn 2023 runways.

Italian entry luxury label Halfboy entered the image on the onset of the pandemic but has managed to carve out a distinct segment following, and retail validation, in just just a few seasons with its mixture of post-streetwear womenswear garb that feels apt for the times.

Having sealed distribution partnerships with a roster of premium retailers including Ssense, Farfetch, Neiman Marcus, Joyce and Harvey Nichols Dubai, amongst others, Halfboy is dropping just a few items for fall 2023 exclusively on Net-a-porter. They’ll hit the retailer’s platform in October.

“They were among the many first big names to support us, although they literally bought the primary collection [for fall 2021] over a virtual meeting,” said creative director Alice Moraschini.

With a background in fashion, having worked and consulted for brands and showrooms, Moraschini easily slipped into the creative director job. The name Halfboy speaks to the aesthetics of the brand, she contended.

“It’s about taking the codes of the male wardrobe and reinventing them for contemporary ladies, who easily toy with their masculine side without coming across as tomboyish or austere,” she offered.

Leather pieces, including perfecto jackets and shearling coats, have been the brand’s hero products since its inception they usually shall be reinterpreted for the Net-a-porter drop. This features a leather bomber jacket in a forest green nuance and a cropped version in supple leather bearing a denim, distressed effect.

“Halfboy’s is a ‘rock’ woman so leather pieces are after all our core, but I’d just like the offering to grow organically,” Moraschini said. She did, with Made in Italy denim and knitwear now making for strong business drivers.  

The brand counts 80 retailers overall evenly spread across geographies, in accordance with chief executive officer Giovanni Muracchini, who said sales have tripled season-over-season.

The brand banks totally on the pre-collection market. “We then add just a few items and capsule collections marketed as ‘fundamental’ because our clients ask for them,” said Muracchini.

The pair pointed to accessories as the following big category push, to be introduced in due time, in addition to a broader e-commerce rollout. Its own e-commerce is currently available in Europe only and represents 10 percent of sales.