“Wake up dead man …”, the words of the famous working song played by Hammer Ring sound like an exhortation… I can’t help thinking about it as the latest hats signed by SuperDuper Hats dance in front of my eyes… I’m in Florence… the long fashion week has just started!
It is the trio led by Matteo Gioli to inaugurate the new year by turning a dreamy me into the unlikely 1900’s American prisoner intent to sing his lament. I understand their aim. Despite the workers ‘overall – legitimized and re-invented by Riccardo Tisci for Givenchy – the man can and must be impeccable… he just needs to wear a fedora: handmade, original, traditional.
Wake up dead man! Always in my head… I wake up at all… Carried away by the Gioli’s soul contrail I decide to stop by the colleagues Sam Lambert and Shaka Maidoh of the collective Art Comes First. These classic experimenters never fail to intrigue me… This time for the Latest Fashion Buzz – sponsored by GQ and L’Uomo Vogue – they present Avec Ces Frères, a couture line whose motto is: “Tailoring for travel made by masters of tailoring who travel”… Fascinating!
Still immersed in my reflections, enthusiastic traveler among the fashion-buzz, I ran into one of the most particular characters in this Rock My Pitti: Mun Soo Kwon. Tall, fizzy, comic… He strikes me. He, a Korean-born designer with an extraordinary talent. He, proud of his “Key of Hope”: a collection that experiments, plays, reinvents the traditional men’s fashion. Designed for those who don’t want to take themselves too seriously and intend to overcome the difficulties of life through fashion…
Well, here I am. Invigorated by the contagious energy of this slanting-eyes young designer I go and visit Andreas Melbostad that for Diesel Black Gold gives birth to a punk-rock modern star that loves motorcycles and leather as well… Indispensable for both him and all us studs and silver “studded jackets”!
Days pass, I can hardly close my luggage… Still a hostage of the Mal d’Africa originated by Stella Jean’s exquisitely colonialism-inspired collection I leave again towards Milan where the cosmic space of Ermenegildo Zegna swallows me immediately for bringing me back only on 14 January at 17:00… Wake up FASHION man… One week ended and another has just begun!
It is during my stay in that singular “black hole” that I decide to draw up my personal ranking of the shows/presentations that have characterized these Milanese days most and that could represent the next 2014-15 F/W fashion best… Are you ready ? Let’s start!
1: Prada – Sturm und Drang. On the deep notes of a wind band contaminated by the Pina Bausch’s avant-garde music, the men of Miuccia invite us in the Berlin’s Clarchen Balhaus of the ’40s… A nostalgic and together futuristic collection. A throwback to the past for the Maison that challenges the future with clean lines clothes, layering, soft fit.
Must-have: Sneakers, fur-waistcoats.
2: Ermenegildo Zegna – Sidereal. Stefano Pilati isolates the God’s particle and triggers an unusual Big-Bang, creating a totally new universe where elegance is the “sun” around which the fashion galaxy orbits. Men as cosmic citizens, nonchalant players of a natural change. They mix natural and technical fabrics. Oversized volumes and structured garments. Very intense colors and check-prints.
Must-have: Coats, wool-beanies.
3: Dolce & Gabbana – Royal. Domenico and Stefano’s runaway turns into the sumptuous medieval banquet hall where young Sicilian Lords, complete with a crown, parade with a firm step. They are descendants of the Normans, the sons of Ruggero I, Ruggero II, Guglielmo II, Tancredi, Enrico VI, Federico II and Manfredi. They wear sweatshirts praising the magnificence of the millennial palaces…
Must-have: Crowns, embroidered-gloves.
4: Calvin Klein Collection – Abrasive. Obsession, Eternity, Escape. The names of the fragrances produced by the famous American brand parade in a row. A metropolitan, almost industrial collection. Warm colors and comfortable volumes wrap those professional soldiers led by Italo Zucchelli that puts a secret mission into their hands… to diffuse the renewed the concept of sportswear.
Must-have: Oversized-sweatshirts, multitask-backpacks.
5: Neil Barrett – Striking. A collection fueled by the overwhelming power of nature, the one presented by the British designer. Strong, striking, unmistakable. Barrett combines the casual style with the artisan refinement of the work. Degradé coats, sweaters in soft mohair, strapped Montgomery… A symbol above all to tell this story… Lightning!
Must-have: Lightning-print hoodies/bomber jackets.
6: Marni – Iconic. Consuelo Castiglioni presents a fine collection, clean and yet avant-garde. Inspired by the male iconography transfigured and sublimated into a series of garments suitable for the modern man. A wardrobe that covers the needs and demands of daily life using what is known and familiar in an off-kilter kind of way. The fur, symbol of the Maison, becomes a just mentioned vice…
Must-have: Scarfs in astrakhan, comfortable-suits.
7: Giorgio Armani – Greige. Password? Jacket. On the King Giorgio’s catwalk she is once again the undisputed star. This time the designer makes the lines simpler. He gets inspired by the soft and structured set of cardigans that go well to replace the traditional, customary deconstructed of the 70s. A pure, harmonic, precious collection. Dreamed, wanted, “stitched” for the man who will come…
Must-have: Squared-sunglasses in black acetate, i-Pad leather covers.
8: Andrea Pompilio – Polka-Dot-Bang. Pois, pois, pois. Funny, dynamic and fresh. An almost irreverent collection the one introduced by the winning designer of Who Is On Next?. A collection that subverts the rules of the classic styling. The walkway is colored by as much unusual as right on the money blue, magenta, green. The jackets are the pivotal point… Element around which Pompilio expertly builds measurably extravagant looks.
Must-have: Fur busby, silk-pochettes.
9: Jil Sander/Marc Jacobs – Surgical/Tactile. The first collection after the farewell of the homonymous founder stays true to the personality and style of the German designer. Rigorous outfits parade ordered, aseptic. Deep colors contrast the roar of the optical prints. Compact forms alternate with more persuasive ones. In the holographic pants, the aesthetics of a undeniably essential collection…
Essentialism is also the fil rouge binding all the items presented by Marc Jacobs. The lines are fascinating and wink at the ’70s fashion, that of the Hollywood splendor. The natural materials confer a flavor of comforting authenticity to the whole line that becomes free from conventions and gives off the informal, over the top nature of its creator.
Must-have: Leather-oxfords for Jil Sander. Peacock-tail-printed-shirts for Marc Jacobs.
10: Frankie Morello – Street-Spatial. RUDE and impressive as the hoodies parading on the runway, the collection designed by Maurizio Modica and Pierfrancesco Gigliotti is a real “Space Odyssey”. Classic garments renewed with technical material. Neoprene is used as matelassé mesh or layered with bounded fabrics. Silhouettes are oversized and full, with a distinct reference to the cocoon fit…Ready to take off!
Must have: Printed-socks, coat-caps.
An intense, dynamic, surely exciting Milanese week. A week of genius, passion, tradition, craftsmanship. A week combining couture and marketability. A week that once again imposes on the world an Italy able to lead the industry. Who would not bet on the success of the Cell Blok shirts proposed by the Dsquared2 ineffable duo or even that of the furred-slippers promoted by Missoni? I have already wagered…
Wake up dead M-E-N… Fashion is super alive!
