Designers mix it up just for guys
MILAN designers continue to blur the lines between female and male clothing, to various degrees.
For some it is experimentation with textiles, but others are challenging long-held assumptions about what best suits men and women.
Here are some highlights from shows on Monday, the third day of menswear previews for next spring and summer during Milan Fashion Week featuring Fendi, Gucci, Etro and Canali.
Fendi goes with relaxed looks
Nothing is what it seems at Fendi. The runway appears to be a drying stream bed, but it is actually an effect achieved with resin. And Silvia Venturini Fendi continues her sleight of hand throughout the menswear collection for next spring and summer.
The python peacoat is in reality a technical fabric treated for a shadow effect; the yellow rubber raincoat is actually fine leather and reversible. And the tweed coat is in truth stamped cotton with a granite effect.
The looks were disciplined and well-proportioned, but relaxed with few suits and no ties. The line focused on mixing materials: a silky shirt with suede jacket and jersey knit pants for a comfortable walk. Colors were inspired by a coastal storm. The Fendi bag bug of the season is a fuzzy white smiley face.
Gucci blurs lines between genders
So, it turns out that Alessandro Michele’s speedy Gucci collection for men in January, pulled together in just five days, was very indicative of his fashion leanings, which are decidedly gender flexible.
Gucci looks for men included white crocheted shorts with an embroidered butterfly and anchor. Transparent lace shirts with decorative appliques were worn with shiny basketball shorts or athletic pants. Flared elephant pants were paired with glittery sweaters and shirts with pointy collars. A double-breasted suit had a shirt with micro-ruffles and a red flower at the neck.
As he has done in his past two shows, Michele sent both men and women down the runway, often in similar outfits, as he blurred the lines between genders.
Innovative materials
Andrea Pompilio is wiping the slate clean from his first two seasons at Canali, sweeping aside geometric prints in favor of monochromes in deep Mediterranean shades.
But the real news of the season is his materials. He made outerwear out of a silk organza that created transparency, durable denim out of wool-linen blend, and terry cloth tops and jackets from knitwear.
The papery transparency of the safari jackets, bombers and trench coats allow just a glimpse of the softly striped shirt below. Despite its lightness, the organza fabric maintains a nearly architectural shape.
“That they see through your trenchcoat your suit or shirt, I find very interesting,” Pompilio said.
The terry cloth recalled the heyday of 1950s men’s dressing, when Hollywood stars would be pictured poolside in velvety shorts outfits. Pompilio expressed his love for geometry by creating stripes of terry cloth on shirts and jackets.
A feminine touch for menswear
Kean Etro’s looks for next summer were clean and contemporary, anything but the bohemian and ethnic attire often associated with Etro.
Etro chose female fabrics for the men’s line, continuing the Milan trend of exploring the lines between genders, and maintained a sharp silhouette.
“You see no lapels, no buttons, no nothing, everything is super clean even the prints, only egg shapes,” Etro said before the show.
The deployment of Etro’s familiar paisley was understated and any tribal touches were reserved for linings of the garments, not for outward display.
Etro revamped its showroom into a circle, and at the end the designer joined hands with the models in an outward-facing circle as a tree grew up on the screen behind.
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