Milan Men's Fashion Week Round-up

The Milan menswear shows have breathed new life into Italian brands. This time last year the world was in economic crisis, which saw many Italian brands suffer. Fast forward twelve months and the listings of Prada and Ferragamo on the stock

exchange has brought aspiration back to Italian fashion. Other brands too have seen positive profit margins and a renewed global interest into what 'Made in Italy' stands for.

A strong fashion week kicked off with Corneliani and Ermenegildo Zegno on Saturday, with Zegna showing strong neutrals in a Mediterranean influenced collection. Looks were complement with Spanish fisherman's shoes, flowy linens and bold leather sportsbags for added casual-chic. Burberry was inspired by all things tribal, showing a hippie collection of ikat prints, pompom straw hats, bohemian sweaters in hues of orange, green and sunset.

Prada looked to the world of golf and sent tongue-in-cheek sportswear down the runway. Rhinestone cowboys wore two-tone denim and leather, while jackets were encrusted with crystals and gold studs. The collection also featured simple cotton suits, geek-chic cardigans and tailored shorts.

Raf Simons at Jil Sander summarised youth movements from the last decennium, but the looks on the catwalk were confusing and not commercial. Models with oil-slicked hair wore highwaisted shorts, plastic rain macs, snake-print tops and lace up boots, which all in all projected a muddled message. Especially as the house of Jil Sander once stood for purity of its craft and minimalist approach to styling, it's new creative director appears to over-style its heritage.

A rock and roll collection for Alexander McQueen saw soft velvet blazers in yellow and red tones over striped trousers. Shirts and tied shirts came in bright red circus stripes and collegiate jackets saw bold stripes peeking from its lapel. This was Sarah Burton's third collection since the death of its founder in 2010.

Missoni took its cue from the upcoming Olympics and showed a sporty knitwear collection using textured yarns and woven metals. Moncler Gamme Bleu also showed a sporty collection, although it opted for fencing as inspiration. Models dressed in all white opened the show in a fencing club filled with trophies. To the soaring soundtrack from “Star Wars,” the fencing-padded clothes took on a space age dimension.

Calvin Klein was all about futurewear. Designer Italo Zucchelli continues to explore what it means to be designing in the 21st century using techno fabrics and backstage told the IHT: “I worked a lot of hyper 3-D dimensions, and I wanted texture — waffle pique and rubber takes on mesh,” to explain the voluminous track pants, the cropped fleeces and the extreme sport details, like running shoes on a transparent plastic sole.

Designer Neil Barrett sent looks that mixed 70s rock chic mixed with English sophistication down his catwalk. Marked by black-and-white check patterns, chunky shoes and sandals, chain wallets, not to mention his trademark leather pieces.

Images: Spring Summer 2012 Prada, Neil Barratt, Jil Sander

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