Formality redefined
Fendi hits hybrid note
MILAN, Jan 14, (AP): Milan designers continued their exploration of the shifting roles and representations of men in changing times.
The design language during Milan Fashion Week veered from androgyny to gender-less to hybrid – but always against a backdrop of unmistakable masculinity, just enough elements to turn the feminine heat up or down. The overall trend was toward more formality, but that can be broadly defined and not just as suits. In fact, business suits with ties were few and far between on Milan runways, while jackets took on an array of shapes beyond the traditional notched lapel or double-breasted looks.
In the celebrity role call, Golden Globe-winning actors Taron Egerton and Stellan Skarsgard sat front row at Armani, and Jude Law’s daughter, Iris, and Australian singer Cody Simpson attended Fendi.
Highlights of Monday’s shows on the fourth day of Milan Fashion Week previews of mostly menswear looks for Fall/ Winter 2020/21:
Fendi Silvia Venturini Fendi presented a rich collection for the family-run fashion house that subtly blurred gender lines, without ever abandoning a masculine silhouette. The collection hit just the right note in the conversation of what men’s dressing can be today.
The art lay foremost in the overcoats, which were tailored in three lengths that zipped on and off, depending on the mood or weather. The coats appeared in threetone fur or wool, changing with each removable panel.
In their most cropped version, the coats swung sensually like short capes with shortened sleeves. That could be layered over a Vneck ribbed sweater and high-waist jersey gray trousers.
Fabio Quaranta Embracing the gender-less moment, Fabio Quaranta didn’t label his show as menswear or womenswear; he didn’t even assign a season.
These were clothes for anyone, anytime, “starting from men’s fashion codes, and transcending traditional ideas of gender.”
Jackets were for layering: boxy versions one over the other, or with suit jackets, or with padded vests. Trousers were slightly cropped and wide cut, good for men and women in bold plaids. There were also Bermuda shorts – a definite Milan winter trend, and perhaps a comment on the apparent inevitability of global warming?
Giorgio Armani It’s definitely winter in Giorgio Armani’s world. Setting the tone, images of snow flurried on screens above the runway, which was set up around plastic sculptures resembling melting ice.
The designer opened the collection with a series of ski and snowboard wear in puffy black or white in a capsule collection dubbed Neve, or Italian for snow. They included puffer shawls wrapped around coats, and zig-zag mohair sweaters under ski vests, and over-the-shoulder detachable cozies for an extra layer of warmth and protection that appeared first on the Emporio Armani runway.
Transitioning into ready-to-wear, Armani made the overcoat the statement piece of the season, with the focus on texture. A wool coat had a nubby boucle finish; a shawl collar added elegance to a suede coat; striped overcoats were meant to recall blankets.
Fabio Quaranta