Youthful designers injected energy into the third day Sunday of Milan Fashion Week menswear previews for next spring and summer.
While the topics of generational and creative change at some of the most-established Milan fashion houses were running in the background, young brands carved out their own space to grow by their own rules.
Some highlights from the shows, including Milan mainstay Prada.
PRADA
Miuccia Prada says she was “trying to do elegant in a new young way” with her latest menswear collection.
At Prada, young does not translate to streetwear, even if there were sneakers. The new plastic square logo on nearly every garment, including the folded turtle neck, was strictly an ironic answer to prevailing trends.
Against previous intentions, elegant at Prada translated into sexy — i.e. short shorts for men — and at times playful — big stuffed aviator hats made for summer despite the decidedly wintry earflaps, mostly in Prada’s trademark black vinyl.
“I never pronounced sexy in my life. I never wanted Prada to be sexy,” but willingly embraced the notion as the rest of the fashion world seemed to resist sexiness in favour of boxy street looks, the designer said.
“You know I am a bit of a contrarian,” she said.
The looks amounted to basic mix and match, layer or not: Straight trousers, turtle necks, shirts and jackets, and the short-shorts, which Prada called “a miniskirt” for men. Materials included denim and suede. The colours were mostly neutrals.
There was a slightly psychedelic feel to daisy print shirts and fantastic scenes that conjured the animated film version of the Beatles’ Yellow Submarine.
Underlining the message, Prada stripped the showroom bare, put clear plastic sheets on the wall and sat guests on inflatable clear cubes.
“Sometimes, it is good to go back to simple things,” she said.
MISSONI
The Missoni man is finishing a trek from Europe to West Africa, Paris to Dakar. His looks range from soft-tailored suits in a cotton-wool blend to rugged hand-painted leather pants with a slightly degraded feel. They were paired with nylon windbreakers layered with a breathable, sporty nylon ripstop jacket that blocks the sand.
Menswear designer Mayur Ghadialy said the knitwear brand is increasingly including non-knitwear fabrics in collections, knowing that “too many layers of knitwear can get bulky.”
Missoni’s quintessential soft-tailoring came through in a double-breasted suit and pants made from a pure cotton knit-weave hybrid. It was layered with an elongated mesh T-shirt under a polo shirt.
Loose neck covers provided protection against the desert elements. On the rugged end, a jacquard sweater inspired by creative director Angela Missoni’s personal collection of African rugs was paired with a hip pair of burnt-orange leather shorts.
The tribal feel came through in alternating geometric patterns or ethnic borders on lightweight tops that were oversized for a comfortable tunic vibe. Patterns on viscose shorts and tops and loose pajama tops were reminiscent of tire tracks in the sand.
VERSACE
Donatella Versace is looking to dress a man whose masculinity is challenged by neither lace, nor neon nor florals.
The Versace man is ready to work in a double-breasted pinstriped suit but leaves the shirt unbuttoned to show off a Versace T-shirt that reads like tabloid newsprint. The headline: “Versace finally speaks out.”
The flash soon followed, with shiny red snakeskin coats over mid-thigh shorts and Versace newsprint tops. Boxy jackets with flat pockets were worn with matching shorts, dressed up with a woman’s cross-body bag.
Men wore sheer tops over legible T-shirts, lace detailing on military-style knitwear and floral print suits with buttons left open to show off necklaces and belly-button jewellery. Flashes of neon green and orange closed the show, in knit sleeveless tops that show off a man’s hours at the gym. The bright footwear included the Versace Chain Reaction sneaker.
“The Versace man is the centre of all the attention,” Donatella Versace said in notes.
The menswear runway was punctuated by corresponding looks for women, including model Bella Hadid in a snug leather mini with form-accentuating ruffle accents and Kendall Jenner in a body-hugging floral mini with thigh-high boots.
DOLCE & GABBANA
It was bring on the bling at Dolce & Gabbana, where the designing duo explored the brand’s DNA with turns by some of the brand’s historic models — Naomi Campbell, Monica Bellucci and Marpessa Hennink — decked out in sleek men’s suits.
Designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana created menswear looks that ran the brand’s gamut from suits for daytime that were still tightfitting and sexy to glammed-up versions in bright sequins. There was loud beach and resort wear that featured colourful bursts of prints or black-and-white logo plays, and geek looks in sandals with socks and a beanie.
Elegant all-white suits and outfits had golden brocade touches, recalling Baroque churches in the duo’s beloved Sicily. And the northern Italy Milan DNA came through in a sleek muscle knit and black trousers or high-waist camouflaged trousers with bold printed shirts.
Accessories included bejewelled surgical masks, presumably for smoggy cities, and the new Dolce & Gabbana Super King sneaker featuring logos on the heel and a geometric sole.
To underscore the brand’s broad reach, the designers filled the runway with millennial influencers, real-world royals and aristocrats, singers and performers, but also ordinary people: elderly women out for a stroll in bold primary prints and a family with children.
