MILAN — Caught between the pandemic and war in Europe, Milan’s luxury fashion designers kicked off four days of previews of mostly menswear for next spring and summer on Friday in a challenging economic climate.
Most shows have returned to the live format with tight seats before the pandemic, but once again the long-awaited return to normalcy was delayed.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has pushed up energy and commodity prices, threatening a growth trajectory in which revenues surpassed pre-COVID-19 levels in the first half of this year. Despite the uncertain outlook, the industry forecasts sales of €92 billion, a 2% increase over pre-pandemic levels recorded in 2019 and 10% more than in 2021.
“We are positive but realistic, and a lot will depend on what happens in the world,” said Carlo Capasa, president of Italy’s National Chamber of Fashion.
Here are some highlights from Friday’s launch of a slightly reduced fashion week of some 25 shows:
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DSQUARED2 RIDING THE WAVES
“Waves come in seven, and we’re at number 3,” Dean Caten said backstage after he and his twin brother Dan presented their latest collection for their Milan brand, Dsquared2. “We have all kinds of waves. We can have some happy waves, I hope.”
The Canadians presented an optimistic vision in their Spring-Summer 2023 collection, which was inspired by a hodgepodge of 1970s Bob Marley hippies and surfers.
The menswear collection gave plenty of room for personal expression, from floral sarongs to linen pants, studded leather jackets and neoprene tops, loose, lightweight beach trunks to flowy anoraks. Suit jackets found a place over loose parachute pants. Patterns and colors clashed playfully, while soothing azzurra aqua was highlighted by neon salmon, fading into pastels.
“He is very powerful, very peaceful. I think in these times we just need to share love. There are too many negative things around us. And the 1970s was about peace and love,” Dean said.
Looks were embellished with beading, topped with knit caps or wide-brimmed beach hats, while footwear ranged from chunky sandals with slouchy socks to colorful port slippers and hiking boots.
In the beach world of Dsquared2, T-shirts are optional, as Italian Olympic sprinter Marcel Jacobs demonstrated in the front row with his tattoos peeking out from under a leather jacket. Backstage, he took it off briefly to show off some of his latest tattoos: Mount Fuji and the Japanese temple on his left arm in honor of the Tokyo Games, where he won gold.
“Tomorrow I go back to training. Now, I’m taking some time to have fun,” said Jacobs, who plans to leave next week for the United States, where he is scheduled to compete at the World Championships in Athletics in Eugene, Oregon, from July 15-24.
Jacobs, born in Texas, said he always liked fashion growing up in Italy, and is well known for sporting necklaces and bracelets when he runs.
“I’ve always paid attention to every detail and special parts. I try to put my style into everything, even when I’m racing,” he said.
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BILLIONAIRE OFFERS EYE-CATCHING FASHION WITH NO REASON
Philipp Plein returned to Milan with his Billionaire brand aimed at men who don’t look at price tags, but quality.
“Billionaire is a strong name, which I didn’t start, but we fully embraced it,” Plein said at the brand’s spring-summer preview at the Four Seasons hotel. “We see great demand in this luxury menswear segment.”
Plein made the bold decision to buy out his partners, including brand founder and former Formula One manager Fabio Briatore, to take full control during a strategic and creative relaunch from the pandemic hit.
The new collection is for colorful dandies, the kind who would flock to the Great Gastby’s Long Island mansion, or to a yacht party in Portofino on the Ligurian Riviera.
The Billionaire models in the courtyard below were mostly older, gray-haired men, the brand’s target audience, wearing unapologetically leisure-class looks. They embrace bright colors, including suits in bright green, pink, or navy and white stripes, toned down by sets of ivory and white linen shorts or three-piece suits.
“We don’t want to focus on young people,” Plein said. “I think we have to be proud of our age.”
As guests arrived for the evening’s performance, the jazz group walked around wearing the latest Billionaire lemon prints, against green, red and blue backgrounds. Multicolored straw hats completed the looks.
“We don’t usually dress like that,” the guitarist confessed as he strummed.
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THE FASHION OF MILAN CHALLENGES TO THE OPEN FORMAT
The contrast between the quiet and exclusive nature of Milan Fashion Week and the exuberance of the city’s premier design week has never been more stark than this year.
The Milan Furniture Fair and the collateral events at the Fuori Salone that make up the design week closed just days before the opening of the fashion week, with 400,000 visitors over six days.
Casting a jealous eye on design week, small Italian fashion brands not normally shown during fashion week are now pushing to open it up to a wider audience, beyond the exclusive crowd of fashionistas alone. by invitation.
“Let’s not lose this energy. Let’s make it fashionable. I really think there could be a kind of Fuori Salone, call it what you want,” said Gigliola Maule, president of the Milan Showroom Chamber of Commerce, which represents showrooms for small and medium-sized brands.
The proposal won the backing of the city’s economic development official, Alessia Cappello, who has called for talks with Milan’s fashion council.
Source: abcnews.go.com