Fashion
The Best of Milan Menswear Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 13/14
22:59If I had to explain Milan Menswear Fashion Week collections to someone who does not pay attention to fashion, I'd say that the collections are mostly for men who have serious jobs but know how to have a good time. So let's say Ari Gold from Entourage, maybe Harvey Spector from Suits, if we ever saw him out.
Even though Milan Fashion week is always a lot more serious and tailored than London Fashion Week, it is still a lot more casual than Paris Fashion Week.
With that being said, let's take a look at the Best of Milan Fashion Week.
Every winter leather is the go to fabric but this year it seems like more people will be wearing leather than ever. From the spring/summer 2012/2013 collections it was evident that leather was going to be worn by women all over the world, however I did not know that even men would embrace the trend.
Leather pants are popping up everywhere and I always thought they were awkward for men until I saw Costume National Homme's Winter collection. If you are thinking of wearing leather pants this year, please first take notes from this collection.
Black is once again the go to colour this winter as it is every winter. According to Costume National Homme so is navy and white. If you prefer something a lot more brighter than go for the electric blue which has been paired with black.
The thing I loved the most about this collection is how leather has been paired with other fabrics. Leather is a difficult fabric to get right and as we have seen from Costume National Homme, you need to 'match' it with the correct fabric. I always say wool goes very well with leather, especially a cable knit jersey. Don't be scared to wear leather with your work shirt, at least it will make you standout in the office.
I also loved the all white outfit and the graphic t-shirt. The t-shirt makes the look a lot younger.
It is impossible to write a Milan Fashion Week post without mentioning Dolce & Gabbana. Female or male, Dolce & Gabbana will always be a favourite of mine.
As designers they always keep us guessing and I love how their clothes are so full of culture. The inspiration is always clear and they are always pushing boundaries.
Without trying to sound controversial, this show seems very holy to me. I could be mistaken but it seems as if religion is the inspiration for this collection.
If the inspiration of religion is not depicted through graphics on shirts, then the models look like they work in the church.
One of my favourite pullovers from the collection is the one with the bicycles. It almost reminds me of Lacoste's spring/summer 2012/2013 collection where they used images of shirts and tennis rackets as print. Dolce & Gabbana have used bicyles almost as stamps on their pullovers, or jumpers. as some might call them. They also used choir boys as a 'stamp'.
Once again black and white are the standard colours of this collection, as they have been for every other menswear collection. There were hints of red here and there and grey filled the gaps. About halfway through the show we saw some colour.
We saw big flowers used as print, similar to the female spring/summer collection from the past year.
The sleeves this year are very loose. Dolce & Gabbana gave us a half tailored half un-tailored collection.
There are few suits which are paired with priest shirts (they have that priest collar).
Overall I loved the prints and the embroidery. There were hints of velvets here and there which might become the new staple in fashion shows in the next coming season. Loved the way black and white was paired together.
Dolce & Gabbana managed to create a very cohesive, Italian collection which I absolutely loved.
Geometry is one of the big trends of 2013. The geometric trend almost goes hand in hand with colour blocking, however you dictate whether it is colour blocking by choosing the right colours. Neil Barrett has demonstrated how to wear the geometric trend without looking like a colour-blocker.
The Neil Barrett collection started off with a lot of brown which was paired with leather accents. Loved this detailing! Many people are scared to wear leather. Wearing it as an accent is the best way to add leather to your outfit.
If you do like leather, please take a look at the leather jackets in this show. They are a lot different to the usual leather we used to seeing. It's not your usual biker jacket. It almost seems as if the leather has been made to look like wall panelling.
The sweaters are a favourite of mine. As mentioned before, the leather detailing is also a favourite. If you are not into leather even as an accent you can get the red, white and black sweater which is absolutely amazing. It also shows the geometric trend I was speaking about earlier. It is not colour blocking because opposite colours have not been used.
Moving away from the colour blocking and geometry, grey has been used extensively in this collection. An almost fine tweed has been used for the coats and bomber jackets. Loved the bomber jackets. They were very popular last year but none of them looked like this. It was a very nice way to reinterpret a past trend.
All in all the show was very cohesive and held together by using various shapes, colours and fabrics which are all very crucial for this coming winter.
I said to my friends when menswear fashion week started that a lot of the looks remind me of Christian Grey. Even though I have not yet had the honour of learning about the famous Mr. Grey I can already guess that he would dress from Salvatore Ferragamo's latest collection.
This collection is borderline evil and that is why it reminds me of Mr. Grey.
There is a lot of layering, high statement collars, leather and dark colours, all the things that make a winter collection.
Besides being an evil collection, Salvatore Ferragamo also created a tailored man's dream. Everything fits well. This isn't like the London Collections we saw earlier were everything seemed as if it was made for P. Diddy in the '90s.
All the trousers are straight leg and jackets fit the arms nicely.
There are few cable knit jerseys with dramatic collars which come with zips. Those jerseys are also paired cable knit scarves. It seems like a lot of fabric but once the winter chill is here you won't be saying no.
Capes which made a very small appearance in last year's collections were also displayed on the runway.
I also absolutely loved the hint of fur and the dark green that was used towards the end of the show. Well it's not really a green. It's a mix of green and navy, Charleston green.
This collection may make a man seem dark and evil but you cannot deny how well it was made. The tailored element of this show is an illustration of how much work into it. Life would be a lot better if everyone dressed like this, man or woman.
For those who like drama, the Vivienne Westwood collection is the one you would try emulate.
This show reminds me of a refined Jack Sparrow, or a civilised Sweeny Todd. Like all the shows we have seen this one is very dark, figuratively and literally.
However for some reason this show is a lot more sinister than the other collections. The models wore strange makeup and it almost looked like they had been cut or beaten up. It's almost as if Vivienne is making clothes for a new age gangster.
Black, blues, navy, plaid, stripes and a few other things were all part of the collection. This is definitely a collection for someone who wants to make a statement.
There were some outfits which were just print head to toe which are not good for any man.
Because it is a Vivienne Westwood collection, the garments are more art than they are fashion, even though some might argue that it is the same thing. A few of the outfits in the middle section of the collection are just for show, well that's how I see it. For men who prefer to wear beautiful clothes that aren't made for show, the beginning of the show and end are the parts you need to concentrate on.
I really liked how some of the more simpler outfits were paired with plaid socks or Waldo inspired striped socks. In the beginning there was a very nice grey coat which can be worn by men who like fashion and those who don't even know anything about it. Her slate grey trench coats were absolutely beautiful and are an essential part of any man's wardrobe.
For some reason this collection is cohesive but it's not. All the looks look similar but they don't. It's very difficult to describe how this show came together as a whole. I think the underlining sinister theme is what brings the show together. Do yourself a favour and look at every outfit that walked the runway.
Street style favourite, James Quiantance also walked the runway which I loved.
Sometimes even fathers need fashion direction, that is why Emporio Armani exists.
There were about three different sections of this show. The first was made definitely for fathers, fathers who are lawyers or bankers.
My favourite part of the first section was the inclusion of the khaki colour. The black and khaki outfits border on colour blocking but flirt with the geometric trend more. Khaki chinos wore worn with shirts that were half black and the other half khaki. It almost seemed as if the models were wearing jumpsuits.
In the second half of the show and first half was seperated by a display of leather trench coats. Because of the amount of leather used it became a bit younger. I'd be lying if I said that those coats were my favourite part of the show. I think they were a bit too exotic and almost reminded me of Versace.
After the leather showcase the collection became a lot younger. We saw cable knit jerseys paired with colbat and royal blue trousers and pants that look like sweat pants.
The second half and third half of the show was divided by bomber jackets. I actually don't know if they bomber jackets or snow jackets but they were not the most attractive of garments.
In the third part of the collection we saw a lot of blazers and leather once again, even a leather scarf which I loved. This velvet trend also creeped in during the collection. Some collars had velvet accents.
Yellow once again made an appearance. Could it be the next winter colour? There was even a turquoise jersey. I guess winter and summer don't have any clearly defined colours anymore.
The collection featured many different looks for many different types of men. If you have any fashion knowledge you could clearly see that it was an Armani collection. The collection was strong, used past trends as a foundation and also flirted with upcoming trends.
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