Salvatore Ferragamo Menswear Catwalk Fashion Show Milan SS2016

Ferragamo’s designer Massimiliano Giornetti mixed the city street and the tropical outdoors in a collection that seemed young for a brand that’s been in business for nearly 90 years.

Working against a backdrop of palms and tropical greens the creative director sent out models in baseball caps wearing sports-inspired riffs on the traditional suit. Baseball style and other abbreviated jackets were done in pinstripes — some with contrast piping — and were paired with roomy, pleated trousers. More traditional suits were worn over T-shirts, or layered over sweaters accessorized with colorful skinny ties. Colors were of the earth — plum, ochre, cocoa, turquoise and palm leaf green — and came in blocks or stripes on everything from knits to outerwear. Baseball and leather jackets were adorned with cactus and monkey designs on the back — Fifties greaser style — while one sweater was paved with varsity letter patches, in keeping with the youthful spin.

 

Calvin Klein Menswear Catwalk Fashion Show MIlan SS2016

 Italo Zucchelli’s collection for Calvin Klein was single-minded, reductive and repetitive — and it was all the better for it. For the designer distilled the essence of the brand — clean, minimal and as urbane as New York City — into his muscular tailoring and military-ish sportswear.

Sturdy fabrics like cotton-twill added stiffness to topcoats and short, strong-shouldered jackets. Zucchelli also employed cotton twills and jacquards to approximate a signature of the brand — denim — giving jeans and jean jackets a worn, yet sculptural aspect. The other main ingredients were military parkas, cropped nylon bombers, boxy T-shirts, and narrow chinos with a wavy loop of fabric tacked to the waistband, echoing the lacquered waves of color winking from sleeveless T-shirts layered under gauzy sweaters.

Some of the chinos and bombers were riddled with enough removable utility pockets to carry keys, smokes and cell phones.

 

 

Trend Report SS15: Romantic Goth

Goth styles have been coming and going season after season. No shocker! Yet, fashion may repeat itself, even the Goth trend gets a different twist every time. For spring/summer you can either choose for sporty or romantic, or a mix of both. Mesh fabrics (Balenciaga, DKNY, Versace) and sheerness (Costume National) go hand in hand with the Goth appearance. While femininity and sexiness (Dolce & Gabbana) make convincing all black attires too. It’s just a matter of styling and make-up whether you take it to the dark (and perhaps a little scary) side. Super smokey eyes (Tom Ford) bleached brows (Givenchy) or red eyeshadow (MaxMara) will do the Goth trick. Same goes for chokers (Versace) and crosses (Givenchy). But no need to follow the lead. This trend has had so many revivals any interpretation will do. Add your Nikes, if you feel like it. Or go for a seductive high heel instead. Health or glam; have it your way. The catwalk images below illustrate how it’s done. Goth it?

Versace Menswear Catwalk Fashion Show Milan SS2016

Donatella Versace sent out a desert-inspired collection with laid-back silhouettes, lots of layers and bursts of warm color.
The designer layered long and fluttery printed shirts under plum, sand and olive suits — and even sent some out solo and belted like whisper thin robes. Pinstripes were made to look faded — as if bleached by the sun — as were muted tie-dye prints on suits and scarves, while tuxedo trousers with a drop crotch had a breezy Eastern feel.

Models in flowing, knotted silk headscarves — and wearing sandals and socks — made their way down the sandy catwalk dressed in languid, pajama-like suits and hooded bomber jackets printed with hand-drawn rosettes or patterns inspired by the Versace Home collection, such as cushions and chairs.

Bomber jackets came in plum leather or caramel with a subtle argyle pattern picked across them, while washed silk coats had oversized patch pockets, presumably for storing a compass, map and camel snacks. Knits — which rarely take a starring role on the Versace runway — were a treat, with one dip-dyed number glowing with colors as bright as a desert rose — purple, pink and blue. Other elongated knits came with slashes at the elbow or the shoulders, teasing with small windows onto the body, the only hint of flesh in the entire show.

Bottega Veneta Menswear Catwalk Fashion Show Milan SS2016

Tomas Maier has been steering the brand in an athletic meets leisure direction for some time now, and for ss16 he presented a luxe wardrobe for five-star trekking in the Black Forest. “A journey back to nature,” the designer said of his outdoor-like collection, an ode to earthy colors, mossy textures and slouchy or active silhouettes.
Much of this trail gear was literal — anoraks, windbreakers, climbing pants, Sherpa sweaters — albeit done with Maier’s sophisticated eye for colors and fabrics. He also blended in lounge-y items, including bedroom jackets and crumpled pants in ticking stripes. And of course the new normal detail: socks in sandals. It’s official now.

Neil Barrett Menswear Catwalk Fashion Show Milan SS2016

Neil Barrett stepped away from his sporty, street-vibe style and managed to change masculine classics from around the world to a modern universal wardrobe. The look was still urban and fresh, yet more ageless in design. He used batik prints, camouflage, nautical stripes and kimono patterns – reworked and fused together to conjure “an idea of a global masculinity.”  The mix of patterns did not overwhelm, because Barrett kept them together with one color story: all gradations of navy and indigo, with touches of black and white. The tight palette counterbalanced a wider spectrum of fabrics, with lots of denim. Low in the crotch but narrow on the hip, cuffed or with rolled-up hems, the  indigo bottoms let off an air of American workwear. Barrett performed the trick on non-denim, too, experimenting with slouchy and easy silhouettes as opposed to his usual sharp-cut look. As for tops, the designer went with spring’s hot new category: sleeveless V-neck tunics.

Marni Menswear Catwalk Fashion Show Milan SS2016

With a Tim Burton-esque soundtrack playing in the backround, Consuelo Castiglioni’s return to the Milan runway with Marni men’s wear captured the awkward juncture between boyhood and the adult world. Outsized collars splayed over leisure suits that could have been nabbed from an uncle’s Seventies vacation wardrobe. Pants, whether loose or slim, were often too short and showed chunky socks and sandals.

It all had a naïve charm that was true to Castiglioni’s retro-tinged aesthetic. She embraced workwear codes to explore that no-man’s land between leisure and the office: employing lots of Maytag-repairman blue, or shades evoking Soviet-era uniforms; adding utility pockets to shrunken blazers, and splicing suit sleeves onto boxy shirts. Somehow the queasy colors, funny shapes and occasional flash of noisy floral prints managed to work together.

Jil Sander Menswear Catwalk Fashion Show Milan SS2016

In a season marked by soft shapes and rivers of fluid fabric, Designer Rodolfo Paglialunga presented a Jil Sander-collection with full of geometric shapes and far from soft & fluid silhouettes. Trousers stretched only to mid-calf, while suits came with knee-skimming shorts, and were made from lightweight leather, shiny, coated canvas, or crinkly parachute nylon.

The muted palette featured dove-gray, pale olive and black, while adornment came as a utility strap running down the side of a sleeve, and rectangular, colored patches in leather or dark shades of blue or brown. Bright abstract Japanese-style flower patches on denim jackets and snappy short-sleeved shirts added much-needed perk to the collection.

Hot List: 21 shades of…

Summer officially starts within a week. You can see and feel it in everything; nature’s buzzing, festivals are popping up, Nike running sessions all over and the gym and yoga classes are overbooked (of course we do our exercises too. Promise!). But if you haven’t yet started with building your ultimate summer wardrobe, why not start now? Beach ready or not, the streets are craving for some new season fashion highlights too. Your shades may not be the starting point, but consider them to be the cherry on the cake. Picking the right pair is as significant a style marker as finding you the right pair of shoes for your first date. And maybe even more important: no summertime Instagram photo feels complete without a striking pair of sunglasses to get that double-tap from your followers. So choose wisely when it comes to size, colour and fit. Oh, and before we forget: leave your modestness at home, it’s gonna be a bold and quirky SS15.

1. Keeping it fresh on hot summer days – Classic white frames

2. Saturdays’ hangover – Oversized, yes please!

3. Feeling your Dutch roots – Orange fever

4. Cultural weekend break – Powerful frames

5. Late summer nights – Ombre-effect

6. Aviator attitude – Hot child in the city

7.  Bold red – Why only a red lip when you also have red sunglasses?

Trend Report SS15: Not over(all) it

Overall, “pair of overalls”, bib-and-brace overalls, dungas or dungarees. So many names, so many functions. Who would have ever thought this casual attire would ever make it to the center stage of the fashion scene? Well, start believing it now because this golden oldie has been revamped and ready for action this SS15.

With denim being one of the biggest trends for this season, it’s likely you already have one overall in your closet. The two of them have been intertwined since forever and seem to dominate our wardrobe every few years as they go way back. The first pair of jeans were created in 1873 by Levi Strauss. He created an affordable denim version of the overalls silhouette once used by the British Army in the mid 18th Century. In the 19th century, the overalls became the uniform of the day laborer, worn by miners, mechanics, railroad workers, and farmers.

The ’90s were a big moment for overalls as it became the personal style of hip-hop artists like Tupac, TLC, LL Cool J and DMX. Wearing them without a shirt on underneath or better yet, one strap unbuckled and tucked in their Timberland boots. And the garment’s popularity extended to an even bigger stage when it started to appear in popular tv series like Beverly Hills 90210, Friends and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. And can’t we all remember TV style icon Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) wearing her fitted overalls on a trip to the country on Sex and the City? She was a hot child in the city, for sure.

No wonder the fashion pact began to sell one-piece overalls -taking it from practical to posh. Dungerees have proven their fashion charm beyond toddler domain and have evolved from functional clothing and runway favourite into our favourite summer gear and the ultimate festival compagnon (especially with shorts). The easy, wear-it-with-anything is playful and casual, but can also be dressed up very chic (in leather). No time for considering; let your imagination flow as these classics are the new chic.

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