Written by angelo flaccaventoMilano, Italy
This article was originally published by The Business of Fashion, an editorial partner of CNN Style.
Difficult moments can lead to fits of madness or a definitive affirmation of reason. It was the latter that ruled Milan Men’s Fashion Week that closed on Monday: a very rational, very efficient, and very product-focused Fall-Winter 2023 season, full of perfectly fine, if largely tasteless clothes. It was less a celebration of normalcy than an exaltation of rigor, simplicity, and purity.
To put it in the words of Miuccia Prada: “In serious moments, one has to work seriously and responsibly. There can be no place for useless creativity. Creativity makes sense and is only useful when it discovers new things.”
Sadly, there were no new discoveries this season, but a new formality took hold: a symbolic rappel à l’ordre after years of dismantling sober notions of masculinity, dress codes and wardrobes. And yet what emerged was not a hardening of the masculine image, but a sense of fragility, with tailored pieces landing on bare chests, not shirts and ties.
Nowhere was this more evident than at Prada (pictured above), which showed a collection that looked like Prada-issima in its modernist, minimalist intent and Raf-issima in its celebration of thin, hairless youth. There was nothing new going on here, and yet somehow it seemed attractive again. What stood out to me was the relentless focus on wardrobe archetypes, the mathematical-architectural play on proportions (whether long and narrow or puffy and cropped), and the emphasis on cleanliness with a retro-futuristic tingle. But it wasn’t all cold precision—this is Prada, after all: a contrarian-thinking fashion land now spearheaded by not one, but two creatives (Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons), as seen in sternum-like stress. an erogenous zone. . The elongated shirt collars that flutter over coats and cardigans, but also the scoop necklines, drew the eye to this delicate part of the body.
The focus on lanky youth also seemed rather narrow at Gucci, where tailoring and cleanliness, with a sort of laid-back California spirit, replaced the haute bohemian extravagance of the late Alessandro Michele. In other words, Michele’s vision of faerie masculinity was retained, but the maximalism he brought to his work was removed. The result was tasteful and sensitive, if unoriginal: from Céline to Y/Project, the echoes of other brands were palpable.
Gucci’s latest menswear collection was designed by committee in the absence of a creative director following the departure of Alessandro Michele. Credit: Victor VIRGILE/Gamma-Rapho/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images
This was, of course, the most anticipated outing of the season. The stakes were high, but given Gucci’s current circumstances, without a creative director and forced to show a collection designed by committee, there was little to look forward to. Hitting the pause button for one season might have been a better approach, but insofar as this outing was an exercise in purifying the Gucci lexicon, the collection opened a door into the future.
The elegance and discretion of the old school are back. It was beige capes, velvet and double-breasted suits worn with ties at Giorgio Armani. For his finale, Armani sent out couples holding hands and it all seemed like a celebration of tradition that says a lot about the world we live in. In his second line, the Emporio Armani aviator was a treat to behold: draped in wraparound trench coats, asymmetrically buttoned blazers, abbreviated pants and chunky-soled boots, he didn’t fall for the “Top Gun” trap, keeping his demeanor suave. . Or, to quote Armani, he “he’s human, subtle.” This collection was, frankly, an unexpected surprise: a tour of the possibilities of tailoring and elegance for a generation that had probably rarely explored such waters before.
Impeccably tailored blazers, Dracula capes, waist shapers and sheer tops arrived in a restrained palette of black, white and very light grays at Dolce & Gabbana. It was tense and focused, if excessively repetitive. Here, too, the skin was a gift but, showing through shirts and peeking out under coats and tops, the look was more sensual than fragile.
In other places, the house was front and center. Domesticity was everywhere: blankets, pillows, slippers, and childhood memories. The emphasis on staying at home was a strange thing: post-pandemic, one expected a fiercer drive for adventure, parties, other shores. And yet, in the uncertain world we live in, people are undoubtedly looking for peace of mind.
Sometimes the internal and the external can create an interesting combination, converging in a kind of house party feeling. This was the case at Fendi, which combined the perfectly domestic with a series of bright, vivacious garments in a show set to the music of disco master Giorgio Moroder. Silvia Venturini once again played with duality and reached a climax with a mix of seductive, 70s lean tailoring and outerwear fused into blankets that was great from start to finish. What’s exciting about her style with menswear is how thick and rich each piece feels, without seeming over the top, flashy or tacky. Such a balance requires mastery and Venturini has it.
Models present creations for Fendi during Men’s Fashion Week in Milan on January 14, 2023. Credit: Jin Mamengni/Xinhua/Getty Images
In his first men’s outing at Etro, designer Marco De Vincenzo felt equally energetic and domestic, exploring both the idea of the house as a home and the concept of the house as, well, the fashion house. Etro started out as a fabric manufacturer, so the show took place in a warehouse, amid scraps and rolls of fabric. De Vincenzo’s own love affair with fabric began, when he was a child, with a velvet blanket whose pattern was reproduced on a coat. And if the collection seemed very Etro and very De Vincenzo, the Etro man seemed connected to his inner child, rejuvenated, although still in search of a clear identity. All things considered, it was a good start.
Not everyone felt calm and homely: the times also call for subversion and rebellion. At MSGM, a seditious take on school uniforms had a very early Raf Simons vibe, with energetic Italian flair, and it felt fresh. The teen angst Dean and Dan Caten were exploring at Dsquared2 was all about hipsters, skin, and hormones, in a collection that somehow turned back the brand’s clock to where it all began, a few years ago. twenty years.
Alyx was a thing of urban layering and prints galore, dreamed up with artist Mark Flood, while Simone Botte and Filippo Biraghi, aka Simon Cracker, delivered a much-needed rejection of the present with true punk energy. Her recycled trinket is as crude and labyrinthine as it is vital, for there is method to Vivienne Westwood-esque madness.
Luchino Magliano is the undisputed leader of the new batch of authors. What sets him apart is the ability to embed his concepts into the clothes, not just the layers of storytelling that often surround them. Magliano is the herald of a broken and slow classicism that seems sad, undone and dangling, but also beautiful and full of life, very much in the glorious vein of Comme and Yohji, with a touch of left-wing Italian. Federico Cina also advances by leaps and bounds, moving from the intimacy of his beginnings to a delicate but carnal sensuality with expressive breadth.
Models walk the Zegna show on January 16, 2023 in Milan, Italy. Credit: Misrepresentation/fake images
In a reductionist season, the blank boards were all too often soft boards; It takes mastery and concentration to strip things down and make simple, desirable garments. Among the classicists, the best was Brioni’s infinitely subtle, luxuriously interior departure. Working on his own fabrics and finishes, Alessandro Sartori struck a surefire punch at Zegna: one in which clean lines and a lack of unnecessary detail maximized textures, surfaces, and emotions.
The JW Anderson menswear show in Milan was reduced to the basics. One look even involved a roll of cloth. Credit: Estrop/Getty Images Europe/Getty Images
But it was Jonathan Anderson who stole the show with the latest JW Anderson collection, presenting a reboot act so raw, so powerful, that things went back to cloth roll. In a reflection on ownership, the frilly shorts of ten years ago made a comeback, in a kinkier incarnation, and it all came full circle on the idea of a shared wardrobe. This was simplification with meaning.
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