Gucci
Moncler Gamme Bleu
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Alexander McQueen
Bottega Veneta
Just as soon as men's fashion week here in Milan appears to have begun we're already dashing to Linate airport to make the flight to Paris for yet more menswear shows. So Milan is over and what a crazy few days. Whilst we got our blog on about a few shows there's a fair few Our Man in Milan has not yet mentioned. So here's the comprehensive lowdown on what we saw for Autumn/Winter 2010.
Over at Gucci we were expecting a highly sexy, sassy, glamorous Gucci of seasons past so we were surprised to see it toned down slightly this time around by Frida Giannini. Not the first impression one got in the mirrored runway. Yes the cut was as sharp as ever and the loafers certainly crept in, teamed with skinny turned up trousers; something the Sloanes of South West London will not be incorporating with their Gucci loafers that's for sure! As Nirvana soothed us all out paraded yet more camel-like tones on calve length outerwear, slick suiting and plenty more. Darker than seen at other shows but equally as sophisticated. These were paired with navy knits and trousers, Giannini is a dab hand with the colour charts clearly. Outerwear came in a variety of guises from suede, fur, and ostrich skin to a bold leopard print jacket...OK so it was true Gucci at heart. The knits got bolder in a kind of native Indian-American way and the polo neck appeared under sports jackets hinting to a bygone era when a Gucci double G was a symbol of wealth and class as opposed to unashamed brashness. With some fine man bag action...some of it clearly not destined for the real man about town...and a finale of jewel-like velvets in rich purples and burgundies there's certainly a box of delights to be had at your nearest Gucci store next season.
Puffer jackets are usually not our thing here at The Established Man. Put it down to memories of Pony Club for the posher members of the team here and a night out in Croydon for the rest of us mere mortals. Either way they don't feature heavily in our wardrobes. They seem to consistently appear on the sale rail at Uniqlo who seem to be obsessed with the things. But when the puffer jacket in mentioned in the same sentence as American designer Thom Browne, as well as the recently relaunched house of Moncler its hard to be disinterested. So off we trundled to the Moncler Gamme Bleu show for what must have been one of our Milan menswear highlights. A Thom Browne show in New York has always been a spectacle and Browne didn't fail this time around. To the noise of trumpets the models awoke from their camp beds in long John's sporting some fine red, white and blue liveries and assembled their outfits in front of us all. After being checked over by their Sergeant that all was tip-top we were treated to a show where the pen never seemed to leave our notepad. It was Moncler all the way but Browne's design touch was ever-present. By playing with the ideas of a goose-filled padded jacket and tweaking it and turning it on its head Browne created a conceptual but wearable collection once you broke it down. Ok, the striped trousers and coat in dark grey and black might appear like a prisoner on the run but separately they of course work. Moon boots took the boot trend to another stratosphere for those winter months meaning you might need another cable car just for your footwear when on the slopes in Gstaad.
This outdoorsy theme carried over into D&G land too it would appear. Had there been a lack of lighting at their show one would've thought the Milan sumo wrestling association were on a day out from the silhouette cast from some serious layering. God how those boys must have been sweating. There were knits akimbo in a plethora of fair-isle, one on top of the other...then there were boiler suits in goose-down, bobble hats, scarves..you name it, it was in there. We pity the soul who happens to share a chairlift with anyone who decides to embody the full D&G look next season..its going to be a squeeze and that is an understatement.
Pringle of Scotland is a label that we tend to overlook; golfing jumpers don't do it for us. Yet things seemed to have taken another turn at Pringle and under the creative guidance of Claire Wright-Keller its certainly not looking bad. Opening the show with a comical animation by artist David Shrigley was refreshing to see a fashion house not taking themselves so deadly seriously. It was British tongue-in-cheek at its best and made us proud to be from the British Isles. But then it got down to the business of clothes and the joviality of the cartoon quickly gave way to a darker, harder-edged collection. With an entree of moody black on black looks there was the potential for this to resemble a Costume National show but this darkness grew ever so slightly lighter, and by incorporating avantgarde knits things softened, but ever so slightly mind you. There were jumpers that could only be compared to a sort of black, furry bath mat one might buy in John Lewis, yet they really worked when teamed with suiting, leather and smoother textures. We loved the ombre, lighter knits that had subtle wafts of green or grey in them. Layering..always crucial for a winter collection was played with by outerwear being worn under suits and jackets. The odd snood and knitted long gilets carried on a weavers dream.
Rest assured a McQueen show will be a visual feast and Lee didn't fail one bit this time around. Complementing the quizzical womenswear show from September print was high on the agenda here. The backdrop said it all really...a sort of butterfly come paisley affair plastered everywhere. There were moments when models appeared to merge into the room such was the intensity of this print bombardment. With skulls, bones, snakeskin and the rest these were suits and other such wares not for the faint-hearted by any means. But again..break it down and it becomes reality for the everyday....when paired with a very simple yet well cut trouser say; it could and will work. However in this instance it appeared like a second skin on what appeared like mythical creatures from another realm.
Oh and we have to mention Bottega Veneta for their nod to Teddy-boys and everything Brighton Rock inspired. With hair to match the skinny-string bows and drainpipe bottoms this was a modern update on an era of vintage menswear at its best. Who would have thought a Bottega boy had such a bad side. Team with a vintage Vespa.
Ciao Milano!
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