MILAN (AP) — The menswear runway in Milan was packed with understated looks for the coming fall and winter, as if the fashion world was taking a deep breath to see what happens next.
The color of the season: Black. The silhouette of the season: slim or relaxed, but above all fitted. Bags: Utility. Shoes: Oversize and adherent sole. Still, all this usefulness was punctuated with romantic, feminine, and even sexy gestures.
Here are some highlights from the third day Sunday of mostly menswear previews for fall-winter 2023, as many big brands seemed to be hitting the reset button:
THE RETRO-FUTURISM OF PRADA
The ceiling of the darkened Prada showroom rose to reveal industrial chandeliers as the first looks appeared on the runway: tailored, slightly boxy suit jackets with tapered, wing-like collars that flapped gently with each step. , secured and padded with just a colored thread. knitwear.
Reminiscent of the 1930s or ’70s and retro geometric prints, collars added a romantic touch to a clean, understated collection from co-creative directors Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons.
“There is no room for useless creativity,” Prada summed up behind the scenes.
The pointed collars, which also appeared on cardigans, are removable, giving the garments a longer lifespan and utility. On the runway, they rocked a sexy shirtless look.
The couple continued their exploration of uniforms, the kind that exemplify the value of working and not projecting authority. In that vein, the suede tunics with matching coats were reminiscent of a craftsman’s apron, worn with a shirt and tie to emphasize the virtue of work, and over the season’s tight trousers.
The clean look and minimalist tailoring had an intentional retro-futuristic feel, which Simons called “very Prada, in my opinion.”
The puffer coats had a rounded shape. Padded T-shirts kept the torso warm under the coats. The shoes were thick-soled, with laces and raised welts. The bags were thin bags for documents or computers, with a slot for thermoses.
Suits were mostly black or gray, with separate pieces adding color: pants in red or green, cerulean blazers, yellow and pink cardigans.
Even the venue at the Fondazione Prada was stripped of artifice, down to the concrete floors, walls and ceiling, which fell back as models left the catwalk.
Outside, hundreds of screaming K-Pop fans greeted the band Enhypen as they arrived for the show, some being rewarded with selfies afterwards.
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SIMON CRACKER PAYS TRIBUTE TO VIVIENNE WESTWOOD
The designers behind the Simon Cracker label paid homage to the legacy of Vivienne Westwood during a runway show featuring their latest collection of upcycled garments.
“We are here thanks to her. She was the first to make garments with recycled material,” said Filippo Biraghi, who founded Simon Cracker with Simone Botte in 2010.
“We study it, we use it, we live it and we feel allied with it,” Biraghi said of the British designer who died last month at 81. She “she used fashion to protest, as protest language, throughout her history.”
Following in Westwood’s recycling footsteps, designers collect unclaimed garments from dry cleaners and textile scraps from producers to make their one-of-a-kind creations.
In this punk-inspired collection, each garment is unique, encouraging nonconformity. Caps served as epaulettes on the shoulders of jackets; a miniskirt was designed with staggered ruffles on the front and a net on the back; handmade blankets became coats. The knitwear was made with recovered yarn and in collaboration with the designer Gaia Segattini.
In the spirit of Westwood, the show closed with a model draped in a tulle garment with the words “Demand the Impossible” emblazoned on the front. The garment was a collaboration with Jamie Reid, the Sex Pistols’ art director, who donated clothing from his “Ragged Kingdom brand” for the final looks.
For the finale, all the models wore photos of Westwood around their necks. Biraghi, who was wearing a T-shirt with the image of a jolly Westwood on the front of it, turned to reveal another image of her frowning on the back.
The designers said their message, which has been with them since the brand’s inception, has grown more urgent, citing the danger to the planet and “the mockery of the system.”
“There is something wrong if you are not angry today,” Biraghi said.
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THE IMAGINED WORLDS OF CHARLES JEFFREY LOVERBOY
Charles Jeffrey Loverboy, the brand of self-proclaimed Scottish club kid and designer Charles Jeffrey, brought joy to the Milan runway with whimsical storytelling across knitwear, kilts and prints.
Jeffrey presented his “Engine Room” collection through three subcultures in a mythical floating city: workers, whose work keeps the city aloft; posers, or former workers who now enjoy luxury; and snakes, aka the media. While other brands went minimal, Jeffrey went all-out, with a focus on apparel details and an explosion of color.
The workers were dressed in gray, white, and black, their faces mottled, star-patterned, and clawed shoes. The posers burst with colour, including graphic prints from the archives of Scottish artist and playwright John Byrne, metallic accents and endearing knitwear with kwai details like hoods with ears. The snakes had a gothic edge, dark garments giving way to newsprint prints against a (read) palette of black, white and red.
Jeffrey called the collection “a celebration of Scotland, the workers and the people of the Renaissance.”
Source: news.google.com