MSGM’s latest collection feels like a new uniform for intentional leisure—a lively ode to what lies beyond scrolling and streaming in the valuable moments found sitting alone on a park bench or in the lull of a late-summer picnic at the beach. A uniform suited for relaxed self-reflection is a natural extension of the collection’s theme, which centers around individuality and the importance of one’s personal history.

Creative director Massimo Giorgetti set a clear objective for MSGM’s Spring/Summer 2021 collection: to create a “real wardrobe”—one that is lively and fresh, but can also be worn confidently by every woman and comfortably integrated into the identity-shaping motions of her daily life. The collection debuted through a short film and a photo series starring 12 women who selected and styled their own look, photographed it themselves and shared stories from their very real lives.

The project’s title, I am What I am, reflects Giorgetti’s intentions well—capturing the frenetic and varied spirit of today’s youth culture through the instruction of a diverse cast, including Zinnia Kumar, an Oxford-educated scientist whose latest research focuses on the “decolonization of beauty.”

Though each look was personally styled by its model, Giorgetti’s vision for an emphatically wearable collection rings through all the same. Nothing sits too close to the body—garments seem to nearly float away, aided by recurrent pockets of volume (seen most strikingly in the super-puffed sleeves attached to the show’s many bright and roomy dresses). Models captured themselves in moments of movement—crouching, lying in repose, and bending in every direction. These dynamic arrangements suggest the success of Giorgetti’s goal to build a collection that is both fun and functional to wear.

Most of the ensembles have a sculptural dimension—finished with tucks of fabric that are so large they resemble ruffs of the Elizabethan era, or endearingly embroidered with tiny bunches of grapes in white or purple. The collection’s color palette is flushed with measured optimism—miles of citrusy taffetas are balanced with additions of washy neutrals, like a pair of very generously-pocketed, sand-colored trousers with a faint hint of yellow tie dye at the hem. In the same invigorated utilitarian spirit, many of the looks are finished with a pair of invincible looking, heavy-soled ankle boots, ranging in color from a creamsicle orange to a sheened black.