Milan Fashion Week commenced and concluded amidst scorching early summer rays.
On Monday, Zegna concluded its four-day showcase with an outdoor spectacle staged amidst stacks of raw linen near Milan’s City Hall, providing a refreshing sight for city workers peering through their windows. To combat the sweltering heat, Zegna fashion thoughtfully provided iced coffee and linen baseball caps to keep attendees cool.
As temperatures soared, Milan’s designers emphasized fluidity in attire, enabling unrestricted movement for the body. Departing from the streetwear trend, thigh-revealing Bermuda shorts emerged as a viable alternative to trousers, even for urban dressing.
Here are some notable highlights from the final day of Milan Fashion Week, predominantly featuring previews of menswear for the upcoming spring and summer seasons:
ARMANI UNVEILS DISTINCTIVE ELEGANCE
Giorgio Armani’s signature collection aimed to demonstrate to the fashion-savvy public how the modern urban man should dress, even amidst the scorching summer heat.
“I didn’t incorporate any Bermudas,” remarked Armani after his runway show at his luxurious villa in central Milan. “Bermudas imply being at the beach and going on vacation.”
However, he did acknowledge that an influencer in the front row had elegantly sported Bermuda shorts during his morning show.
The 88-year-old designer emphasized that his design process begins with a pencil and a blank sheet of paper, a concept visually emphasized by a prominent, sharpened pencil serving as a backdrop for the runway show. The Giorgio signature adorned the back wall.
Jackets took center stage in most outfits, exuding a soft and relaxed drape, paying homage to the elegance of Asian fashion, according to Armani. Silken shirts, jackets, and trousers featured weaving-inspired prints, echoed in the espadrilles and fishermen sandals. Straw brimmed Panama hats, ideal for vacationing, were often carried rather than worn. The color palette transitioned from washed-out cream, tan, and sage to black and navy, occasionally punctuated by vibrant flashes of red.
Armani counteracted the formal nature of tailoring by incorporating linen and leaving jackets and blazers mostly unbuttoned, transforming a double-breasted jacket into something new altogether, as Armani aptly put it.
“It’s a style of dressing that effortlessly combines elegance and comfort,” he explained. “That’s why the jackets are essential.”
The collection concluded with four boardroom-inspired ensembles: impeccably tailored dark suits, crisp white shirts, and ties. “This serves as a reminder that this is the essence of men’s attire,” Armani remarked.
Moving on to another designer,
Dhruv Kapoor’s Awakening
Dhruv Kapoor, an Indian designer, goes beyond mere style in his collections. His aim is to elevate the emotions of the wearer and inspire them to dream big. Kapoor believes that clothing, with just a small alteration, can tap into the energy of the universe.
In line with this vision, Kapoor presented his spring-summer 2024 runway collection in a serene blue room, intended to create a calming effect.
A vibrant red jacket was featured, igniting powerful emotions. The prints showcased were inspired by crop circles, as Kapoor explained backstage, “I recently read that simply by looking at that pattern, certain things will imprint in your mind, which you will use when the time is right for you.”
The collection, designed for both men and women, boasted a modular approach with loose and effortlessly wearable silhouettes. Kapoor paired a pleated kilt over trousers, complemented by a beaded star-burst studded jacket. The same star-burst pattern adorned a straight skirt for women, combined with a sci-fi print sweatshirt. Additionally, three bowling-style shirts drew inspiration from the cover art of 1970s science fiction books.
“We want you to feel incredible when you put it on,” he expressed. “They won’t even realize what has happened. But we have made a subtle adjustment from the back.”
ZEGNA PRESENTS MINIMALIST SEPARATES
Alessandro Sartori’s collection for Zegna delved into the realm of minimalist separates, offering a contemplative exploration of natural hues that effortlessly blend and complement each other.
The new Zegna “basics” encompassed sleeveless tops and tunics, zippered collared jackets with three-quarter sleeves, notch lapel jackets with rolled-up sleeves to reveal silky linings, boxy jerseys, as well as jackets with neither lapels nor collars. Some of these tops were occasionally styled with wrapped foulards and paired with crisply creased loose trousers or Bermuda shorts. Dark socks and rubber-soled footwear added the finishing touches to the looks.
“There are innovative silhouettes for a collection of simple garments, yet their construction is highly technical,” Sartori explained.
The color palette of the collection featured a transition from ivory to a fleeting mint shade, juxtaposed with a faded rose hue contrasting against a vibrant flamingo tone. Zegna’s timeless classics, ebony and khaki, also made their appearance.
Linen played a central role in the collection, evident from the nearly 200 bales of raw linen sourced from fields in Normandy, destined to be transformed into Zegna’s Oasi Linen at their Italian factories. Zegna expressed its commitment to trace the origin and production journey of all its linen by the following year.
ASPESI’S MILITANT BEAUTY
U.S. designer Lawrence Steele brings his distinctive design language of “militant beauty” to the Italian brand Aspesi.
Known for its classic aesthetic that focuses on building a timeless wardrobe rather than showcasing seasonal collections, Aspesi takes a step further under Steele’s guidance by proposing a mode of dressing that fosters a sense of shared humanity.
Rather than emphasizing clothes that solely accentuate individuality and feed the ego, Steele explores how clothing can help us recognize our similarities and interconnectedness.
To achieve this, he softens military-inspired looks by incorporating nylon and taffeta. For instance, a Cuban floral print dress is layered with an earth-tone military vest, while the same print appears on a bowling shirt layered with a white T-shirt, olive green pants, and a jacket.
Steele himself exemplifies this concept with his outfit, combining his father’s military trousers with an Aspesi blazer, blending formal and informal elements seamlessly.
“My aim is to make the ordinary extraordinary,” Steele remarked, capturing his vision.