Milan: Dolce & Gabbana celebrates a return to basics with refined elegance, Emporio Armani revives the aviator of the 30s and Fendi bets on sophisticated comfort: the major brands build on the classic repertoire by decorating it with small touches of ‘exotic’.
On the second day of Milan Men’s Fashion Week, the crowd was huge on Saturday in front of the luxury home showrooms as fashion lovers tried to immortalize the arrival of influencers or other VIPs with their smartphones.
Far from the usual festivals of color, Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana have unveiled a men’s collection that extols the style of clothing and focuses on the color black, which for them is synonymous with both elegance and seduction.
The rediscovery of their favorite color is accompanied by a return to a more linear silhouette, devoid of frills and focused on artisanal luxury, the famous Italian “fatto mano” (handmade).
“We wanted to go back to our DNA, to the core of our brand because now our eyes are full of images that we’ve told ourselves + to do what we are by removing everything +,” the Sicilian duo explains.
Referring to the brand’s fall-winter 1999/2000 collection, Dolce & Gabbana explored corsets to better emphasize the male waist.
Double-waisted trousers are also being updated, as are ties and long fitted coats.
But the black is sometimes brightened by beaded crystals reminiscent of the wet volcanic rocks of Etna and Stromboli, according to the Sicilian duo. Another fantasy, sheer lace shirts and microfibre shirts.
Emporio Armani aviator
Returning to the past, elegance and sobriety are also the words of the new collection of Giorgio Armani’s Emporio collection, haute couture ready-to-wear for a young and trendy clientele.
It’s a hymn to the aviator of the ’30s, whose wardrobe was revisited by the 88-year-old maestro in soft, smooth materials.
A small revolution for the three-piece suit, the shirt of which was replaced by a shirt made of the same wool as the jacket or trousers, using classic plaid or Prince of Wales patterns.
Leather and knitwear are everywhere, with long knitted coats, cardigans and even vintage bombers. For the evening, Aviator Armani chooses silk shirts, sparkling trousers and velvet jackets.
The range of colors in the fall-winter 2023/24 collection ranges from gray to beige and caramel, passing through touches of red and purple, without neglecting black.
Giorgio Armani explained, after the show, “It is important for us to reclaim fashion, even the past,” and in particular those of the 1930s, which often departed from the “usual classic”. “I wanted to have a little fun,” he said.
Fendi breaks codes
Like Giorgio Armani and the Dolce & Gabbana duo, Silvia Venturini Fendi clearly enjoyed breaking the dress code, creating surprising effects with asymmetrical accents.
The dressy reinvented by Fendi dares to diagonally cut tops, one-shoulder tops, and even long-sleeved shirts, revealing part of the torso.
Pants are loose and flowing, some flanked by draped skirts, sweaters tucked in with sashes and double-breasted coats with satin lapels.
Silk jacquard, cashmere, and technical leather are the materials of choice, while the colors are sober, oscillating between grays, violets, navy blues, and blacks.
Silvia Fendi, granddaughter of the Italian luxury house’s founders, has also recreated the iconic baguette bag in polished leather with multi-use pockets.
The 25th anniversary of this groundbreaking off-the-shoulder accessory was celebrated in September during Fendi’s pop fashion show in New York.
