#ONESTOWATCH| MILAN MEN'S S/S 2015
WORDS | Lola Odetola
The designers for Milan Men’s fashion week tried setting themselves apart from the pack. Each show was so different from the last. There were no two shows that could be confused with each other. There was such a palpable diversity amongst the shows, I couldn’t believe these lines came out of the same city. I’ve not been this excited about men’s fashion for ages. Keep it up Milano.
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Beginning with DSquared2. This show had a massive focus on the beautifully bright and the mind-blowingly bold. From the tangerines to the flamingo pinks to the banana yellow hues, every color of the rainbow made their debut and were indubitably the stars of the show. The duo paid alot of attention to accessories in this line. Highlighting bulky bags, chunky shoes, unexpected eyewear and hats. They ventured away from designing jackets this time. Being practical and concerned with the wearability of the line, it is clear they realized that the Summer is no time for layering textiles upon each other.
They made sure shirts were more interesting so that one layer in the summer could be as exciting as three layers in the fall. There were plenty of motifs and graphics present in the collection showing a buoyant, carefree vibe while managing to keep a great amount of edge. To top off all of the hullabaloo, as if the show couldn’t have gotten any more dramatic, the backdrop was an actual live DSquared2 photoshoot. Absolutely amazing. The man who wears this collection isn’t concerned about what colors and prints do or do not go together. He loves (and possibly craves) the extra attention that his outfits bring.
Marni decided to mute out their usage of vibrant color for their show, unlike many other lines this season. Ironically, it was bold of them to leave the bold colors behind. There still remained a great deal of color but a toned down palate. Moss greens, blacks, maroons, and so on were present with the occasional bright piece to stand out from the crowd.
There were a lot of coats and layers in this line. I would say it’s less practical (for most cities) for the season but the looks were so strong, I could easily find it in my heart to forgive them. Obvious scene stealers? Printed tops and bottoms paired with knee length coats. The coats brought the whole outfit together so seamlessly. Most of the pieces were wearable for the “not too adventurous” guy who wants to still be involved in the cutting edge fashion scene in some respect.
Neil Barrett fully mastered the complete absence of color for Spring/Summer without being dull in any sense of the word. The show began with all white looks. So clean, fresh, and crisp.
The show progressed into greys and then turn into a dark black coal towards the end of the show. In retrospect, the entire show was easily one of the most flawless men’s fashion shows I’ve ever seen. A bold statement, I know but everything from the minimalist venue to the music (a smoothly produced Beyoncé, Kanye West, and French Montana mash up) I was getting all of my life.
Loving so many of the looks in the entire line, the ones that stand out are the all-white ones. It takes such confidence to pull off all white from head to toe including shoes. It looked radiant and angelic while challenging everyone’s “all black everything” comfort zone. Why not try a fresh all white look? Just don’t sit down on the train during your commute to the city!