A NEW FORMULA FOR THE FUTURE OF FASHION – OUR REVIEW
Text by Diletta Accorroni
For the first time showing with a brand-new formula, the Milanese Men’s Fashion Week has just come to its end. Actually, from the 15th to the 19th January 2021 a number of 37 fashion brands digitally shown their Fall 2021 collections. Some of them did it with the desire of keeping the traditional catwalk format, while others opted for digital creations; however, there is something that bring together all the Houses: none of them hosted any guests. Here a few of our favorites.
PRADA and its Possible feelings, is on the podium of course. It represented the debut number two of the most talked about collaboration, that between Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons, first time together designing a Man Collection. The set for the fashion show was built by Rem Koolhaas with his studio AMO. Within these colorful walls, the two designers had an interesting conversation with some fashion students, coming from all over the world. The rooms looked like the ones of an indoor place, however elements such as marble, resin, plaster and faux fur made us linking them to the outdoors. It looked like they were seated in a no-place, in which time does not exist. The fil rouge of the collection is represented by the word “touch”, in a period where such a gesture -strictly related to the “physical” dimension – seems to have almost disappeared. This is clear mostly in the materials and textiles which have been chosen: jacquard, tweed, bouclé, re-nylon and lots of pattern. The shapes of the items are both oversized (striking especially for coats, bombers and sweaters) and very slinky (a triumph of very tight Union Suits). Coming to the color palette of the collection, it goes from dark colors – such as black, dark blue, burgundy and purple – to include brighter ones; yellow, orange and pink above all.
White, instead, is the color on the Olympus of the two Designers Loris Messina and Simone Rizzo, which in fact named “Canvas” their Collection. This is actually the second Canvas collection that SUNNEI presents during Milan Men’s Fashion Week, with its platform launched exactly a year ago, at the very beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. This time they did it through an actual video game! Once again, the protagonists\models are 3D avatars, who show a genderless, ageless and playful collection, created with the aim to be customized by retailers. Literally blank canvas, conceived to be filled with lots of creativity and imagination. Actually, Sunnei gives you the chance to create your own collection digitally, mixing different outfits, choosing shapes and colors, with the mantra of the “zero waste” at the top of the project. This signifies the strong will of the duo to build a strong relationship with buyers, retailers and consumers too, offering a kind of experience never truly known before: being inside a showroom making your choices, without physically being inside a showroom.
Also Walter Chiapponi, Creative Director at TOD’S, decided to bet everything on technology and showed his FW Collection through a wonderful short video with Lorenzo Zurzolo (Netflix series “Baby”’s star) as the main character. The actor is filmed inside and outside a villa in the North of Italy, immersed in a gloomy atmosphere. He embodied a kind of solitude seen as a curse and an opportunity for meditation and reflection, with a reconciliation with Mother Nature and her healing powers. This perfectly mirrors the situation of some of us out here, trying to lead our lives exactly as Lorenzo, during the umpteenth lockdown. Apart from this, also the collection in itself is the perfect child of these crazy times in isolation. The pieces are cozy, practical and designed with smooth and soft fabrics. There are a few traditional outdoor pieces and tailored elements of course, but everything is casual, loose and relaxed.
ERMENEGILDO ZEGNA opted for a short movie too, called “The (Re)Set”. Here the garments represent a mix of formal and casual; with cozy, comfortable and embracing being once again the adjectives which describe better the collection. It looks like a new kind of aesthetic is taking hold, with old and new, outdoor and indoor mixed together…and jersey as the main undisputed protagonist.
Then, the softest of the wool, paired with the traditional nylon and its original multicolor tape, made the latest K-WAY collection contemporary and appealing. Fabrics such as leather and velvet run the place all together with fashion-forward accessories such as charming fisherman hats and micro and macro bags, in the most disparate materials.
