Welcome to our Men’s Fashion Week Milan roundup where we’ll be keeping tabs on everything that’s been going down across the city’s shows and presentations. The first few days have already delivered plenty: Ralph Lauren’s celebrity-filled return, Dolce & Gabbana‘s Sicilian escape, Brunello Cucinelli’s lesson in understated luxury and Setchu‘s clever take on fishing gear. Add in suede jackets, teeny tiny shorts and enough expert tailoring to fill a grand Italian hotel and it’s safe to say SS27 is off to a strong start. Check back daily as we bring you the highlights, the standout pieces and all the bits we’d quite like to take home with us. Emily Phillips
RALPH LAUREN
WHAT WE SAW: Ralph Lauren was back in Milano once more with a double bill, showcasing the brand’s Polo and Purple Label collections. After, last season, showcasing his first menswear catwalk in the city in over 20 years, this time around the American fashion titan returned with a star-studded frow. Guests included Colman Domingo, Lewis Hamilton and Tom Hiddleston.
WHAT WAS IT ABOUT: Drumming down into the collegiate and gentlemanly codes at the heart of the house. “My approach has always been cinematic, creating visual stories and aspirational worlds. Each a tribute to the personality of the man who lives to push creativity, competition and expressions of personal style to the limit.”
WHAT WE WANT: Patchwork denim was a true standout. As were suit jackets in boating stripes and a bomber jacket that was Frankensteined together using old collegiate flags. Paul Toner
BRUNELLO CUCINELLI
WHAT WE SAW: Off to the Brunello Cucinelli presentation we went. Guests enjoyed champagne and delicious mini focaccia sandwiches while looking through the collection, which was modelled by both mannequins and handsome gents from the Brunello world.
WHAT WAS IT ABOUT: This season was about crafting a wardrobe for a “free thinker” said Mr Cucinelli. “An aesthetic traveller. A man who blends seemingly distant influences, never losing sight of elegance. Style becomes instinctive and personal, cultivated yet effortless.”
WHAT WE WANT: Suede safari jackets and those big leather hold-alls. The cable knits were also great, particularly in the salmon pink. Also is there a way that we could have those mini focaccias everyday of the week? PT
CARUSO
WHAT WE SAW: Tailoring experts Caruso took over an elegant room inside the Grand Hotel et de Milano to unveil its SS27 suiting. The collection was packed with a suit for every occasion, in an array of different fabrications.
WHAT WAS IT ABOUT: The work of photographer Irving Penn was a starting point for the brand’s design team. “In Penn’s portraits, composition, space and posture sharpen the subject’s presence. That same focus on identity is reflected in a controlled vision of contemporary menswear elegance, where image, proportion and intention define every look,” wrote the brand.
WHAT WE WANT: A slender, chocolate-hued trench coat and a safari-style jacket in aubergine. PT
DOLCE & GABBANA
WHAT WE SAW: Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana transported us to Sicily, building what looked like the courtyard of an elegant, marble villa that overlooked the island’s postcard views.
WHAT WAS IT ABOUT: The design duo look to their hometown as a source of endless inspiration. “Sicily is the starting point: the source and soul of a house whose creative expression has always been shaped by the island’s light, culture, contrasts and craft,” read the press release. “For millennia this beautiful island at the heart of the Mediterranean has been coveted and conquered by a wide succession of cultures. Each left fragments of its own identity, adding a fresh layer to Sicily’s richly complex character.”
WHAT WE WANT: Shredded jeans frosted in giant jewel embellishments. Shirts made to look like lace using a Broderie Anglaise technique. And those teeny-tiny shorts, obvs. PT
MSGM
WHAT WE SAW: Skipping the catwalk this season, Massimo Giorgetti staged his first combined men’s and women’s collection inside Ordet, a gallery space that he has supported since its opening in 2019.
WHAT WAS IT ABOUT: The designer set out to create a collection that “does not seek synthesis. It seeks friction”. With the looks displayed on mannequins, a video installation by the artist P. Staff, combining hand painted animation with hazy film shots, echoed colours and motifs that could be seen throughout the collection.
WHAT WE WANT: Polo shirts with chunky stripes in contrasting hues. Buttery leather jackets and a western-inspired trucker jacket with studs across the collar. PT
SETCHU
WHAT WE SAW: Satoshi Kuwata welcomed the fash pack back to his studio space for another strong collection that included his biggest womenswear offering to date.
WHAT WAS IT ABOUT: Titled Caught in Nets, the collection drew on the designer’s interest in fishing through clothes that were elegant and innovative in their construction. Many looks were cast in leather cords, tied to resemble a Japanese square not, that looked like fishing nets.
WHAT WE WANT: Long-lined suit jackets paired with straight legged jeans. A deconstructed trench was also a standout, and the heeled okobo shoes? Major. PT
Top image: photography courtesy of Setchu.
