Yes its that time of year, when fashionable gents, and ladies, of course, make their way to Milan and then flit up to Paris for the men's show. As usual Our Man in Milan is on the ground for The Established Man, and whilst we get soaked on the streets of London during this miserable January afternoon Day 1 seems to have started proceedings off rather well if the Burberry Prorsum show was anything to go by. That's enough from us..over to our Man in Milan.
Ah to be back in Milan, we do love a jaunt to the men's shows and whilst the last time The Established Man had us blagging...blogging... ahem.. our way into shows it might have been in the midst of a balmy July but there's certainly a fair waft of warmth on the runways to be had on this cold Milanese day. Today's A-star goes to Christopher Bailey at Burberry Prorsum, does this Yorkshire man ever get it wrong? Clearly not. We were in awe of the A/W 2010 collection and the opening soundtrack 'Stormy Weather', a suitably indie and English entree courtesy of The Kooks, summed it up with its lyrics of 'Love Love Love'. Boy did we LOVE LOVE LOVE it.
With what could have been the stragglers of school army parade or boys playing dress up in Laurence Corner before its sad closure the first looks were evidently military, thus setting the tone for the entire show. Over-sized camel coats, brass buttoned, collars turned up garnered the British confidence that Prorsum oozes these days. Out they came, long, short, double-breasted, single-breasted and occasionally zip-detailed teamed with skinny black jeans and what looked like fur-lined boots, worn as if they were wellington boots, jeans tucked in and unlike the dreaded-Ugg effect these actually worked, playing perfectly with a subtle, yet new set of proportions.
Under this barrage of fine outerwear lay denim, something we've not seen in a Prorsum show ever we think. Shirting was in a variety of blue-hues, with button-down collars and complemented perfectly when the camel gave way to moss greens as seen on a large raincoat and a fawn brown on the first of many trenches to grace the runway.
Texture was core to the collection and consistently changed. It started off with sheepskin, as seen on large collars and quickly enveloped an entire double-breasted coat or two resulting in a menswear equivalent of Mrs. Prada's women's collection from a few season's ago. Yet this didn't resemble a hand-held puppet at all. No, it was more the glamour of a cold night in Moscow that the goofiness of the Muppet brigade. This concept of juxtaposing textures continued in the precision cut trenches which almost resembled the body of a classic car in both their golden colour and surface texture.
The military gave way to simple, monochromatic looks, yet all the time those fantastic boots carried on through. Albeit it in differing guises and a dark brown version appeared too. These simple looks had us swooning over over-sized cardigans and simple round-neck knits, whilst really giving us the chance to admire the fine black jeans which will surely become a staple for many a well-tailored gent's wardrobe. The black and white moment gave into greys, navy's and a hint of suiting yet always with a slight military 'Stand up straight corporal'.
Of course the trench is key to Burberry and a show without them would be like a scone without jam & cream. Out they paraded; belted, pocketed in many a differing way but this was overshadowed by some fine finale pieces. The Army dispersed to make way for the Navy. A fine regatta of pea coats with their big collars, and glimmering with brass details. Bailey played with this brass, and like a swam of bee's to a honeypot these brass buttons were multiplied and gathered around cuffs and on the shoulders of a Navy knit jumper like a luxurious armour.
With that moment gone the RAF flew in, models striding down the runway as if they were about to pilot a Spitfire. A nod to both American and British air-force heritage, the classic flight jacket of leather and sheepskin was tweaked and given its Prorsum twist. Double collared, with buckles here, there and everywhere. If that wasn't enough they were then inverted to bare the sheepskin innards and leather trims playing on ideas of the engineering of such pieces and a subtle and unashamed rawness.
The fashion set can be a hard lot to conquer but Bailey and his many armies clearly won the war this time
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