Recalling that summer is a liberating season, Giorgio Armani captures its spirit, proposing a new wardrobe in which everything blends together with spontaneity and elegance. Visual references to worlds, atmospheres and cultures overlap, and a new harmony emerges from what appears, on the surface, to be accidental.
The freedom to choose becomes everything: a fluid and unmistakable aesthetic holds everything together, in perfect balance, harmonizing the world of formal attire with the more sporty one, and from here, the luminous effects of materials, dynamism and lightness are gleaned.
The garment that sums up this spirit is the waistcoat, worn either together with the jacket, or instead of t-shirts and shirts.
The jackets have re-imagined proportions, both long and short, single- and double- breasted, with newly-designed lapels. The trousers are so fluid that they appear to be a size bigger; they are paired with coats that give a form-fitting effect of ‘prés du corp’. The shirts are oversized, and caress the body in liquid movements.
The range of colors, always dense, dusty and velvety, goes from coffee to grey to the classic Armani blue, and then lights up in bright but lived-in notes. The artisanal craftsmanship, the result of an unremitting search for new effects and treatments, imparts personality, character and luxury.
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Tags: GIORGIO ARMANI, GIORGIO ARMANI SS 2020, SPRING SUMMER MEN 2020
Fri, June 21 2019 » Fashion Blog
MARNI SPRING/SUMMER 2020 | ACT I
Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce myself first. I am here, but I am also there. Today I am woman, tomorrow I don’t know. I live by the words “Everything was forever until it was no more”*. I am MC Magma, the vocal spirit of transformation, and I am very happy to have you all here, standing up on this field of dots, oblivious of the cloud of waste that hoovers over our heads – it won’t escape transformation, too, so there is no need to fear – to celebrate the marriage between our beloved friends Truman Capote and Ernesto Che Guevara.
Truman embarked in such a long trip to charm Ernesto, leaving his world of swans and lost beauties behind to embrace the jungle of radicalism. We have to admire and celebrate his endurance and suaveness, just as we have to rejoice for Ernesto’s urge to give it all up in the name of mutation.
The rite we are celebrating is a union between two souls, and the respective liveries of course, but it is also a way for us, each one of us, to reconsider our presence in this world, what we stand for, what we strive for. Let’s act up, dear friends. Let’s rebel. Let’s be vocal about are beliefs, or lets’s just wear them. Lets’s ignite a tropical guerrilla, suited or camouflaged, like fauves in the favela, jazzing in the garage and madly hatted. Let’s do it, pleasurably. Rebellion is beautiful and beauty is rebellious. Let the rite commence, and never end.
A study in clashes, and the uneven harmony that ensues by mixing opposite worlds, jumbling it all together. The extreme graphic properness and formality of suits. The radical rebelliousness of field jackets and militaria, with a tropical slant. The immediacy of landscapes – lyrical views of mother nature, complete with the waste that thrashes it nowadays – painted onto shirts, turned into a jacquard.
Little objects of beauty, to front a tropical expedition: stripy polos, little shirts, compact knits. Camouflage is everywhere, never proper and hardly literal: slashed onto jackets and fatigues, turned into a chiné motif, getting a little fauve. Blazers and trousers as sum of fabrics.
Ritual hats, made of garbage, by the artist Shalva Nikvashvili. A bestiary of bizarre animals, on charms and jewelry. Silver brooches by the artist Kazuma Nagai. Slippers assembled from remnants and cut offs, plimsolls dipped in oil, bags that are harvest big.
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Tags: MARNI, MARNI SS 2020, SPRING SUMMER MEN 2020
Thu, June 20 2019 » Fashion Blog
Visions & Dreams
Bringing dreams into everyday life, painting the urban reality with new colours, suggesting new attitudes and emotions, and an unexpected lightness of spirit. Unconventional by definition, and always open to individual interpretation, Emporio Armani defines a repertoire of possibilities through which each and every one can tell their story in complete freedom.
The collection vibrates; it is energetic. Warm, dense tones, brightened by glossy and shiny surfaces like mirrors, pervade the whole collection, underlining its extreme lightness: bronze, intense tobacco, beige, brown mixed with green, green turning to blue, intense and muted blue, black and dark grey.
The silhouette is spontaneous and dynamic: unstructured single- or double-breasted jackets are paired with wide palazzo or parachute pants, with organza surfaces that accentuate the absolute weightlessness. Linen and jute fabrics, silks and cold-dyed viscose add a delicate, ethereal touch.
Shapes are created through a dialogue between the world of sport and the more formal one. Sportswear is interpreted in classic patterns; shirts have drawstrings running at the hem, like sweatshirts; the washed suede track suits are soft, and feel almost fluid against the skin.
The story is dreamy and visionary, yet tangible. It is punctuated by accessories: multi-material sneakers with solid soles, large half-moon bags, spacious backpacks and small pouches, braces with functional snap-hooks.
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Tags: EMPORIO ARMANI, EMPORIO ARMANI SS 2020, SPRING SUMMER MEN 2020
Thu, June 20 2019 » Fashion Blog
Fendi © Copyright 2019
#FendiSS20
A stroll in the garden, reconnecting with nature as we follow gardeners in their path along a pond, under luxuriant trees. For the Men’s Spring/Summer 2020 Collection, Silvia Venturini Fendi brings the FENDI man en plein air, out of the virtual space and of the overwhelming immateriality that is so pervasive in the life of today. In a bucolic yet manual, practical dialogue between man and “the great outdoors” in which the two entities connect, the Collection conveys a breezy pragmatism through an emphasis on functionality and utility, done in the FENDI way.
The start is an earthy, muted palette of greens, beiges and browns combined with natural materials – silks, cottons, wools, cashmere, leathers, suede and denim. Sartorial workwear pieces with a uniform feel meet a certain lightness and air that makes everything weightless and fresher through strategically-placed slits and openings on roomy volumes and perforated garments. Spacious removable pockets are zippered onto place, adding another functional element. Shapes are archetypal: overalls, coats, cargo pants, long polo shirts, vests and suits of course.
Silk pipings, pervasive treillage-effect grids and nets are a celebration of the exquisite FENDI savoir-faire, including a special cut-out FENDI pattern in leather. “Botanics for FENDI” prints devised by director Luca Guadagnino, guest artist of the season, and geometric ones with a vague Kimono flavour add a painterly, gentle touch on waterproof organza. The signature FENDI FF logo and striped Pequin pattern highlight the accessories of the Collection, resulting in a skillful play of logos and textures.
The bags follow the capacious and airy feeling with big totes – in net or cut-out leather – incorporating a removable pouch bag. The Maison icons Baguette and Peekaboo appear in a wide array of variants – from the Essential to the X-Lite – and materials attentively combined together, from precious exotics to woven raffia and classic Selleria leather. The Pequin logo-non-logo also peppers a watering can and a gardening basket for an additional open-air feel.
Echoing the overall gardening mood, high-tops and trainers in canvas and rubber have been developed in collaboration with Moonstar, a Japanese authority in the field. Croco-printed loafers, sandals, boots and Mary Janes for men complete the shoes offer. Under the sun in the garden, finally, a straw hat and a Pequin wool picnic blanket are mandatory. Bottle-opener charms in the shape of gardening tools too.
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Tags: FENDI, FENDI SS 2020, SPRING SUMMER MEN 2020
Wed, June 19 2019 » Fashion Blog
This season Les Hommes is about a very personal and emotional collection. An intimate journey far closer to home, to their homeland Belgium and more specific, to their home-city of Antwerp. A collection full of references to their experiences. The creative duo categorized three pillars that identify their country and city. The national sport cycling, with cuts, shapes, patterns and colours of vintage cyclists knit.
The Academy OF Antwerp experience: constructing and deconstructing that leads to the creations of unique hybrids. Music, the techno scene of the ’90 that was very influential throughout Europe. All these iconic elements are infused in a collection that talks about “contemporary elegant ravers” with an “ACID” touch.
The gentleman’s tailored jacket meets the bomber jacket, creating a unique piece. Pinstripes and the structure of a kway, lined in silver. Intimate Techno Tailoring: design for techno music lovers. Oversized jackets and trench coats. Laid-back tailoring. Classic fabrics, such as mohair and cool wool, as well as nylon and plastic fibres.
Organza and leather made to look like crumpled paper in reflective gold. Acid magenta, acid yellow, acid green, shocking pink and International Klein Blue. All combined with the more traditional colours in tailoring: blue, navy and black. Laced Derby shoes with contrasting or discrete tone-on-tone rubber trim. The Dominator, the trainer. A must.
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Tags: LES HOMMES, LES HOMMES SS 2020, SPRING SUMMER MEN 2020
Wed, June 19 2019 » Fashion Blog
Tue, June 18 2019 » Fashion Blog
Versace © Copyright 2019
The Versace Men’s Spring-Summer 2020 collection is a celebration of contemporary masculinity. Iconic house codes, colorful prints, and ironic nuances are combined with new tailoring silhouettes in signature Versace style. The personal journey of a young man, coming of age and finding his confidence, is subtly referenced throughout the collection. Status symbol race cars and intentionally oversized silhouettes evoke the spirit of adolescence. The Versace man is free to self-express with no limitations.
The power suit is revisited through innovative silhouettes, fabrics and playful hardware accents that boast empowering messages. Double-breasted jackets pay homage to the brand’s DNA, with half the garment in solid black contrasting against Prince of Wales fabric. Animalier, laminated textures, and lurex separates juxtapose formalwear, imposing a new energy.
Fringed leather outerwear, motorcycle vests and dark denim are introduced as wardrobe essentials and are layered over new prints. Versace iconography is embraced through a nod to 1990s culture, including inspiration from Prodigy, the British band accredited to the rave moment. Medusa Biggie eyewear is depicted in pop-art motifs and placed on silk shirts and sweatpants. Emblematic Versace fragrances and vintage advertising of the mythological character Narcissus are featured on denim pieces.
The brand’s most recognizable elements are reinterpreted in saturated color. An archive print featuring the Roman god, Bacchus is hand-painted by artist and friend of the House, Andy Dixon. Opulent vases and a race car motif from Dixon’s work have been developed into seasonal patterns and fabrications. Silk shirts, knitwear, and light metallic separates feature the collaboration between Versace and the artist.
For Spring-Summer 2020, Versace menswear takes a sharp turn for the self-assured. Stereotypes of masculine character are challenged through tailoring, fabric and print – an interpretation of confidence through Versace’s maximalist style.
“For this collection, I wanted to explore the elements that empower a man. It’s definitely the confidence, the freedom and desire to express himself without hesitation.”
Donatella Versace
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Tags: SPRING SUMMER MEN 2020, VERSACE, VERSACE SS 2020
Tue, June 18 2019 » Fashion Blog
Tue, June 18 2019 » Fashion Blog
Ermenegildo Zegna © Copyright 2019
# UseTheExisting
An immense industrial building in despair is the site for the Ermenegildo Zegna XXX show. The runway unfolds below extremely high ceilings that once hosted Area Falck: a monument to steely modernity that over the years slowly turned into a metropolitan wasteland. The dismissed area, however, will soon be re-qualified by Milanosesto into a hub for health and science, along with green and residential areas, gaining a new continuity with the city and a new meaning, reverting from waste to opportunity. As such, it will be included again in the metropolitan fabric, including people within it. It is the same philosophy Zegna is applying to textile resources, with the commitment to continue to create new fabrics from existing ones, and the same drive Zegna applies to re-thinking tailoring for the modern world. #UseTheExisting is the byword.
“It is our duty as denizens of this world to live responsibly - says Zegna’s Artistic Director Alessandro Sartori - I want to do it using the creative means I have at my disposal, which extend from the materiality of fabric-making, to the exquisite technicality of tailoring to the highly communicative aspect of show-making. Everything is connected, and everything conveys the same idea: we do not need to create the new from scratch, but we can reuse and reinvent the existing, getting progressive fabrics out of discarded ones, translating traditional techniques into innovative lifetime tailoring, turning an abandoned place into an area of creation”.
A sharp industrial sensibility comes to the fore this season, channeled by the pragmatic suits composed of blousons, shirts or polo-shirts worn with matching trousers. Sartori sticks to an agenda rooted in tailoring’s essence, morphing tradition into something suited to the pace of a hyper connected, global generation. The silhouette is neat: boxy blousons, voluminous coats, sleek three-button blazers and slim one-button jackets with 3D patch pockets are paired with lean yet soft trousers or fuller ones. Generous pockets migrate from the sportier items onto tailored ones while tailored details move to sport pieces, suggesting a mix of categories that expands the possibilities of use.
Knits are building blocks that increase the modularity of modern dressing. Firm yet extremely light fabrics – wools, technical silks, – enhance the precision of the lines and the weightlessness of the sartorial construction, with flattened crinkles, photoprints of graphic assemblages and progressive stripe patterns giving rhythm to the surfaces. Macro chiné motifs have a painterly feel, mineral dyes add depth to denim.
The #UseTheExisting mindset is a brand’s commitment to use more and more wool and technical fabrics developed by the Zegna textile division with innovative processes from pre-existing sources. The “Achill” suit, entirely made with wool remnants from Zegna’s Achill farm, discarded during the process of suit making and then remixed and rewoven, fully closes the circle of traceability and sustainability. In keeping with the functional mood, accessories are pragmatic: bold-soled printed boots or derbies; signature Claudio sneakers; wearable notebooks and pouches in small geometric shapes.
The sense of industrial elegance is rounded by the mix of mineral hues of cement, steel, carbon and matt black with earthy tones of brass, rust, red blaze, sand and matt gold and light notes of nude, aqua, leaf green, teal and oxidized copper.
Transformation comes to the fore as just another aspect of inclusiveness: a Zegna pillar through and through.
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Tags: ERMENEGILDO SEGNA SS 2020, ERMENEGILDO ZEGNA, ERMENEGILDO ZEGNA XXX, SPRING SUMMER MEN 2020
Mon, June 17 2019 » Fashion Blog
Sat, June 15 2019 » Fashion Blog
