There are three things I treasure of my bygone boyhood:

1) pansexuality
2) hopeless loves
3) the opportunity of wearing unpretentious clothes and not to look like a dumbass

Transcending points 1 and 2, fashion hadn’t any particular substance that time, we wore clothes to simply be ourselves without too many implications. A frayed jeans, a worn sweatshirt, a creased shirt were somewhat self-reflexive and cut across other people’s appreciation. These first two days of Milan Fashion Week see designers playing with those unpretentious clothes- that are just unpretentious indeed! – without too many implications!
Milan Vukmirovic, creative director of Ports 1961, rediscovers the word LOVE. Now I ask you: Can a collection titled Army Of Love be considered as something more than a collection made of unpretentious clothes for unpretentious young boys? I dunno! Anyway, the offering was a soft exercise of romanticism and Nineties minimalism which feasts your eyes upon a naive wardrobe that’s too naive even for a Dawson’s Creek aficionado. Ermenegildo Zegna delivered a fresh collection of sublime beauty where high tailoring and sportswear coexist. Alessandro Sartori has finally shown the true grit he kept hidden during Berluti. You can always count on Melbostad’s Diesel Black Gold if your libido is particularly subdued. Well, it’s such a shame this time was not so. I cannot deny that Andreas’s take was winning, this time as ever, but the line has lost much of his mature masculinity in favour of a more undeveloped one.

Diesel Black Gold FW17

Christian Pellizzari evokes the Hollywood Recency and, even if I’m not a big fan of maximalism, I have to give my approval to the opulent brocade, iridescent satin and (oh Jesus!) gold lurex jacquard. Just one remark: palm prints were so Puglisi SS14! La Triennale is the setting for Marras’ show but I’m not sure it was really a show and, most importantly, I’m not sure it was about fashion. It was more a concept that, in any case, I haven’t understood yet. The foundation of Neil Barrett line is tailoring and contrasting silhouettes. After two seasons of a tedious sameness, Neil showed an intense and convincing collection that looks back at his heritage with modernity.

Neil Barrett FW17

Notte Vandebosch draw inspiration from the world of aviation and late 70’s punk. The upshot could be disastrous in other hands but Les Hommes know how to mix things and mix them good. Marcelo Burlon presented his New Renaissance where extreme proportions and bold silhouettes took center stage while Jeremy Scott focused on Action Man, the Guardians Of The Galaxy and other typical Moschino creatures. This season Phillip Plein went out the door with his first line and back through the window with Plein Sport. The show was trashy in the perfect Plein style and pretty surreal to be defined sportswear.

Les Hommes FW17

The views and opinions expressed in this piece are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the position of Fucking Young! as a whole.