Everything
MILAN – What’s the phrase? We are SO back. From Ferragamo’s restrained perfection, TOD’s renewed luxury to Marni’s showstopper runway (and distracting front row) Milan Fashion Week cemented the activity we recently saw at the Men’s week: fashion is back. Quiet luxury is, thankfully, peaked and style has made its way back into the conversation courtesy of clothes designed to be seen, not just blend into the surroundings of your very tasteful apartment.
Even TOD’s, notorious for garments that speak barely above a whisper, turned the volume up this season. Taking place inside Milan’s largest tram station, the debut collection from newly appointed creative director Matteo Tamburini signified a shift in pace from a house that sets the standard for quiet luxury. Inspired by the energy of transit, the movement of the body through the city, Tamburini channelled the frenetic energy of urban rush into his clothing. Loose-cut tailoring subtly billowed around models as they strode down the runway. Equally generous was the knitwear and denim, and a butter-soft leather trench in rich chocolate, all cut to accommodate the movement of the body navigating city streets. Accessories also spoke to the location’s inspiration: a leather lanyard that made the perfect container for your metro card and the ever-present driving shoe updated with more heavy-duty soles.
It was a similar volume at Bally. The sophomore collection from Simone Bellotti spoke to a city-dwelling sense of haste, where clothing needs to function on both an aesthetic and practical level. To avoid this being too obvious, however, the designer continues to delve into the folklore and myths of the nearby Alps, a fantastical setting to highlight the delightful details that lay behind the seeming pragmatism of the collection. Thigh-high leather waders over denim followed by leather vests covered with tiny cow bells added amusing anecdotes to the collection, fashion’s version of a paddock-to-plate concept.
At Ferragamo, Maximilian Davies marched into fall winter with a military precision, a sensibility that underpinned both the style and palette of collection. Olive greens, mustards and chocolate hues were brought to life in wool-cashmere peacoats and shirting or monochromatic leather ensembles that offered a sumptuous take on modern, ready-to-wear tailoring. Cuts were elegantly sharp, no room for fuss here, yet courtesy of the fabrications still retained a sensual softness. Davies explained in the press notes that his inspiration for the collection was the decade of Ferragamo’s origins. the “roaring 20s”. Coats and layering became an armour that hid the details beneath, to be shaken off once you arrived at an infamous speakeasy. Those coats carried a secondary motif of the show: the revival of the belt. Not that the belt was ever out of style, but Davies’ has brought the accessory back in a manner that resembles the early 2000s objectification of it. Oversized and ornamental versions attached to coats helped provide a weightiness.
According to Matthieu Blazy, thoughts leading up to his latest collection for Bottega Veneta included “the South of Italy, of Calabria and the cactus”. Had he said this prior to the show, trying to imagine how this would manifest would have probably resulted in some very different conversations how this would look. Bottega’s uniqueness has always lay in its ability to wrestle with the uncanny. Take the way Blazy used leather to recreate our most familiar casual pieces (denim, flannel shirts etc). While this was no workwear collection, the clothes were work friendly. And bar. Smart casual has had such a bad wrap due to its banality but this is where Blazy excels, taking what we already know such as trousers, knitwear, a coat, and unsettling them from their base. The emphasis is the fabric, because that is fundamentally where clothing begins.
But it was Marni where the biggest surprise lay. Francisco Risso, creative director of the Italian brand, has never been one to do the expected but this season the Italian outdid himself. Hosted in one of the tunnels below Milan’s stazione Centrale, covered in white paper, a collection of geometric shapes stripped of excess and detail was sent down the runway. Silhouettes were exaggerated regardless of gender – waistlines in jackets were slightly cinched in, emphasising the broad shoulders while sleeves on turtlenecks were tightened along with trousers. Risso delivered drama – a shout among a season full of strong voices – that served as a reminder of what we look for most in fashion: something fun to wear.
