Purple Is the Warmest Colour
For some reason, near-enough every brand dabbled in a little purple in their collections. It’s not the first colour that comes to mind when you think of elegant menswear, but it was resplendent. It’s like blue’s funky aunt, and as demonstrated at Brunello Cucinelli, pairs especially well with pale grey and white. With all the decades of gorgeous Fiorentina kits, we probably should have twigged sooner, but just be thankful purple is here now. Neutrals have been having a moment, a trend that looks set to continue to the back end of the summer, but when Autumn rolls in, break out the blackcurrant.
Time to Shine
Many of the runways were ashimmer with the sparkle of glitter/diamante/Swarovski crystal/actual diamond(?) detailing. The kind of thing that would normally be reserved for especially jazzy eveningwear, Strictly Come Dancing or a T-Rex tribute band has wafted into high fashion in a big way. Gucci set the pace with a pair of silver trousers lifted straight from the Ziggy Stardust wardrobe. Then at D&G, the monochrome black shimmer had a tuxy, almost gothic vibe, while at Missoni sparkles were used in – you’ve guessed it – natty cardigans! There was a little more restraint at Fendi, where the sparkles were more subtly flecked, but still how restrained can a sparkly lapel really be?
You’ll Only Slightly Need a Jumper
You can’t have winter collections without knitwear, but some brands did the bare minimum. Prada, for example, offered barely-there cardigans with dramatic contrasting collars, worn open to the navel. At Gucci & Dolce Gabbana, amongst other chunkier options, knitwear was sheer, designed to be worn in place of a shirt, or perhaps on its own as a declaration of support for the free-the-nipple movement. Sheer fabrics have peppered menswear for some time now, but to see them making an appearance at the more formal end of the dressing spectrum offers insight into how far the so called ‘rules’ of smart dress have been eroded.
The Burglar Beanie is Back
For the first show of the Milan batch, crowds gathered at Gucci HQ near the airport unsure of what lay instore. The brand parted ways with former creative director Alessandro Michele – a designer that took the brand to new, astronomical creative and commercial heights during his seven-year reign – quite abruptly toward the end of 2022, and it was unclear what the next play would be. Would a new honcho be unveiled? Would a new aesthetic be debuted? The answer was no on both counts. The collection felt suitably Guccish – snaffle loafers, monogram accessories; menswear staples tweaked to unorthodox proportions – but understated. No big noises, other than the live rock band in the middle of the room. Turns out Gucci is in transition, and perhaps even those within don’t yet know what the next move will be. However the big takeaway is that all of the ‘rock’ aesthetics – namely glam, punk and indie – are alive and well and the burglar beanie is back.
Jammies Are in, Just Not the Kind You Have Already
Pyjama shirts have been in for a while now, and slouchy joggers have recently made the move from couch-wear to day-wear – many a dude in baggy track pants at the shows, we can attest – but in Milan, some brands went all wee-willy-winky with luxury long-johns in wool or cotton jersey. Prada’s were cast in jewel-tones of red and green, while Dolce’s were grey, worn with knee-high boots, like an explorer from the Thirties. The look is about proportion, and both brands paired their laddish leggings with oversize or boxy outwear up top for a contrasting silhouette. And a reminder to never skip leg day.
And Suits? Grey
All we ever hear is that the suit is dead and men aren’t wearing them any more, but thankfully no-one’s told the Italians, nor the rest of the fashion community, seemingly. There may be fewer ties, dress shirts and brogues, but jackets with lapels and matching trousers still serve as the central core of menswear, and the shows in Milan only hammered home the point. Crucially, though, the common colour was grey, which isn’t something we’ve seen for a while. Grey suits tend to get a bum rap for being neither here nor there – none of the melodrama of black, the classicism of navy or the playfulness of a check – but in Milan, the grey suit was king. The best look may have been at Fendi, but there were excellent greyscale suits at Giorgio Armani, Zegna, Corneliani, and even at such an avant-garde outlet as Charles Jeffrey Loverboy (the British designer’s first Milan show).
Stay tuned for our takeaways from the Paris shows later this week…
