The menswear season rolled onwards to Milan Fashion Week S/S 2024 this past weekend as the Italian city played host to an eclectic amalgam of runway shows, presentations and openings. Among them, a dedicated menswear show from Valentino, which opened proceedings on the afternoon of 16 June. Titled ‘The Narratives’ show and held at the Università degli Studi di Milano Statale, it saw the house divert from recent co-ed shows held in Paris – a tribute, said creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli, to house founder Valentino Garavani, who showed his first menswear collection in 1985 in Milan.
Elsewhere in the city, Ralph Lauren Purple Label made its return to the Milan Fashion Week schedule, while British labels JW Anderson and Charles Jeffrey Loverboy continued to choose the city to present their latest collections. Rounding out the week were the usual array of high-profile Italian houses, looking to define the menswear season ahead – among them Prada, Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana, Emporio Armani, Giorgio Armani, Tod’s, Missoni, and Zegna, which closed the week on the afternoon of 19 June.
Here, the very best of Milan Fashion Week Men’s S/S 2024 – from curtains of slime at Prada to a return to reality at JW Anderson.
The best of Milan Fashion Week Men’s S/S 2024
Zegna
Held in central Milan’s Piazza San Fedele – creative director Alessandro Sartori’s favourite square in the city – the sun-soaked outdoor runway was outlined with 192 enormous bales of raw linen flax. Not just a prop, the bales had been transported from Normandy; after the show they would go back onto the production line to create Zegna’s various linens at the house’s Italian factories. The show itself, titled ‘L'Oasi Di Lino’, was a celebration of the summertime fabric, selected for its feeling of lightness and fluidity and rendered in countless iterations – among them, linen gabardine, linen faille, linen knits and satin linen. Of the clothing, Sartori described a ‘soft precision’, spanning relaxed, unembellished tailoring, oversized zip-up shirts and simple scoop-neck vests and pullovers. ‘At Zegna we keep rethinking what an efficient wardrobe should be like today,’ he explained. ‘It’s the idea of the uniform that prompts non-uniformity – the suit as matching jacket and trousers no longer applies. The overall fluidity makes it all look quiet and luxurious, but the tension in the details, the richness of colours and the freedom infinite combinations suggest is not quiet at all.’
Giorgio Armani
A giant pencil stood at the end of the Giorgio Armani runway, held in the dedicated theatre in the basement of the house’s spiritual home on Milan’s Via Borgonuovo. Its purpose was metaphorical, the designer likening it to the way he has consistently written and rewritten the codes of Armani since its founding in 1975. ‘Narrating a certain style is a constant process… examining familiar elements from different angles to craft new plots and weave new stories,’ said the house. If not a greatest hits per se, the collection instead elegantly distilled Armani signatures: liquid tailoring was elongated in proportion, geometric patterns recalled memorable archival prints, while sportier references came in a series of looks which were reminiscent of traditional tennis whites. Flights of craft ran throughout: like delicate intertwining threads and knotted sandals and shoes, designed to evoke the fluidity of handwriting.
JW Anderson
Backstage after the show, a relaxed Jonathan Anderson said there had been ‘no angst’ in the creation of his latest menswear collection, presented in Milan for the third season running. ‘I love showing here, it’s so calm,’ he explained, noting that recent months have seen him feeling ‘more creative’ having been working alongside Italian filmmaker Luca Guadagnino on the costumes for his upcoming feature Queer. The latter experience, he said, had got him thinking about the idea of realism, a mood reflected in the collection itself – there was a real-world simplicity to the boxy striped rugby shirts, tie-waist sweatpants and hoodies. ‘Ease… the fluency of restarting after setting a blank slate,’ read the collection notes; ‘we’re still in this moment of reduction,’ he said after the show.
One reference, he said, was the everyday textures and patterns of the home: furniture upholstery, woven carpets and tableware, the latter referenced in the collection’s invitation – a striped blue and white teapot made by Cornishware, which celebrates its 100th birthday this year. The stripes ran throughout the collection, continuing across the show’s sprawling runway and into the backstage area. Knitwear was abundant – over half the collection was constructed from knit fabrics – culminating in colourful woven knits reminiscent of shag-pile 70s carpets or balls of yarn. ‘A sense of plainness, and calm, that is not so plain, not so calm,’ said the collection notes. Or, in Anderson’s words: ‘it is what it is.’
Prada
‘Fluid interruptions’ was how Prada described the sheets of slime which began to drip, Alien-like along the stainless steel runway as the house’s latest menswear show began. Such a juxtaposition – the stark, sci-fi-like perfection of the space interrupted by oozing goo which pooled into green mounds on the floor – spoke to the central idea of the collection, which was a musing on restriction and fluidity. Titled ‘Fluid Forms’, Prada called it ‘an examination of fluid architecture around the human body’.
The season began, said co-creative directors Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons, with the archetypal men’s white shirt. ‘We start with the white shirt – the most simple. And from that base, from a base of the most basic and normal, you can do whatever you like. It allows transformation, and individuality,’ said the former. It marked a shift, she noted, from recent seasons whereby the pair have sought to reduce a garment to its essence. ‘Here, from something simple we expand. Life and understanding of life is so complex – simplicity can be too simple. We were interested rather in this elaboration, in this expansion.’
So the pair sought to apply the white shirt’s feeling of ‘lightness, ease and comfort’ across the collection. It began with tailoring, which took the severe, masculine silhouette of the 1940s – narrow-waisted, wide across the shoulder – and reimagined it in ultra-fine fabrics as a riposte to restriction. ‘If you look at the tailoring in the show, it is a classicist man’s suit, but when you actually see it, it feels completely different. It allows the body, which is always in movement and always in transformation, to feel free,’ said Simons. ‘We were thinking a lot about the body – to give freedom to the body, even if our interest is to show references to archetypes and architecture in fashion, which is usually restrictive.’
It led to what Mrs Prada called a musing on ‘the individuality of people, and therefore about an individuality of thinking’, expanding outwards from the simplicity of the inspiration towards vivid expressions of colour and print – shirts bloomed with appliqué flowers, others were decorated by fringing, while classic polo knits sprouted faux fur along the seams and lightweight anoraks arrived in an array of Prada-esque hues. As the designer noted after the show, despite its influence, the white shirt itself ‘disappeared’ entirely from the collection. ‘Sophistication of thoughts, allow a reconsideration of simple things,’ she said.
Etro
‘How does a book collecting anonymous depictions of allegories, found by pure chance in an old bookstore in the city of Messina, relate to the present moment, and to fashion making in particular?’ began the collection notes for Marco de Vincenzo’s latest menswear outing at Etro. The discovery of a 17th-century tome by Cesar Ripa – filled with allegorical images ‘depicting virtues, qualities and vices’ – provided the inspiration for a richly crafted collection. The link to present day? The way that the such allegorical images were the Renaissance-era equivalent of modern-day Gifs and TikToks. Getting dressed, said De Vincenzo, is a similarly symbolic gesture – the subtle meanings behind our choices of clothing, how fashion itself is an act of ‘make believe’. Esoteric explanations beside, the collection was an expansive demonstration of De Vincenzo’s intuitive and eclectic vision for the house, shifting between fluid, bohemian elements – blanket-like coats, elongated cardigans, shimmering printed shirts – and Renaissance-inflected motifs, courtesy of Ripa, which decorated playful football-style jerseys.
Magliano
Luca Magliano was the recipient of the Karl Lagerfeld Award at this year’s LVMH Prize, a nod of recognition that speaks to the growing buzz – and intrigue – surrounding the Bologna-based designer at Milan Fashion Week. On Sunday morning, he staged his first-ever runway show; building site-style metal fences and white tarpaulins surrounded the elevated catwalk, a suggestion that Magliano is still a work in progress. ‘For the first time, a proper runway works as a sincere invitation: “come see us”,’ read the accompanying notes, with various garments in the collection offering slogans of ‘prayers, epigraphs and thanksgivings’ (16th-century nun Teresa of Ávila was quoted on the press release).
The collection itself continued Magliano’s deft plays on everyday garments – warped in proportion, dishevelled and undone, but nonetheless imbued with a feeling of elegance. Deconstructed overalls, bombers and windbreakers were reshaped into what Magliano called ‘a wretched couture’, while glimmers of crystal and delicate marabou-style boas spoke of lost glamour. The deep-thinking designer said that Italian writer Alda Merini was this season’s patron saint; in her intense, passionate writings she made sacred moments of the everyday, a reflection of Magliano’s own desire to transform the quotidien.
Emporio Armani
A vast recreation of the Chinese ginkgo tree provided the backdrop to Giorgio Armani’s latest Emporio collection, chosen for its ‘elegance and endurance’ – an apt metaphor for the collection itself, which the house said was a return ‘a return to the essence of Emporio Armani, purified to the core and seen through the filter of moonlight’. Drawing inspiration from world travel – silhouettes referenced at once Italian sartorialism and the ease and construction of traditional Chinese dress – the comprehensive collection spanned louche tailoring and diaphanous sheer and silk shirts (notes described ‘liquid lines that barely touch the muscles’), an array of tunic-style silhouettes, and sportier cuts, like a voluminous wide-legged trouser with sweatband-style waistband. The show ended with the news that Mr Armani has created team Italy’s kit for the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics, the designer joined on the runway by a series of athletes in the kit, each one wielding the Italian flag.
Dolce & Gabbana
‘Respect for identity, for an imagery that has been created over time,’ described the collection notes for Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana’s latest collection, which was part of a continuing attempt – at both the house’s menswear and womenswear collections – to return to the distinct essence of Dolce & Gabbana and the pieces with which it is most synonymous (‘the tank-top, the coppola, the rosary, the black, the jacket, Sicily,’ said the house). As such, the collection was titled ‘Style’ – a reference to the rejection of ephemeral trends towards something more timeless – comprising of elegant black tailoring (with occasional moments of brown, camel and white), narrow at the waist and flaring towards a wider, voluminous trouser. Other continuing motifs were a series of wrapped silhouettes, fabric looping sensually around the body, or continuing plays on exposure and transparency (from diaphanous sheer organza to lace pyjama-style tailoring). Moments of embellishment showed off the savoir-faire of the Dolce & Gabbana atelier; notably, a series of delicate flowers which hovered over jackets and shirts.
MSGM
Titled ‘Sogno Off Road’, Massimo Giorgetti’s latest collection was inspired by a recent trip to Tanzania. Memories of the country infused the collection with a feeling of wanderlust – vests were decorated with images of sunrises and sunsets (the photographs had been taken by Giorgetti using his iPhone on his travels), oversized utility jackets and cargo pants riffed on safari wear, while textures and colours were drawn from the distinct landscapes of the east African country (from earthy hues of sand, brown and green to vivid blues and oranges inspired by sky and sun). Giorgetti said that he wanted the collection – perhaps his tightest menswear outing in recent seasons – to feel like the moment of promise when the sun rises, ‘illuminating uncharted lands [and] heralding the dawn of a new day.’
Gucci
Gucci’s latest menswear collection – which will mark the last created by the in-house design team before the debut of new creative director Sabato De Sarno – looked towards the ‘iconography’ of the house for an exercise in ‘adaption, deconstruction and reconstruction’. Namely, the house’s signature ’Horsebit’ loafer, introduced by Aldo Gucci in 1953 and featuring a miniature metal clamp like those found on a horse’s bridle. Since, it has become one of the house’s most recognisable emblems appearing across clothing, handbags, and shoes; as such, a special event to coincide with the menswear collection saw Milan-based curator and creative director Alessio Ascari gather several artists at the Spazio Maiocchi to reinterpret the style. These included photographer Charlie Engman, multi-media artist Harry Nuriev and designer Gyuhan Lee, each creating vivid ’rooms’ in a surreal country club playfully titled the ‘Gucci Horsebeat Society‘ (the exhibition will be open to the public from 17-18 June 2023). The collection itself flickered across screens in the space, comprising what the house called its take on a ’classic men’s wardrobe’ spanning louche wide-leg tailoring, oversized embroidered denim and sportier short sets featuring Gucci emblems – from the horsebit (here as a digital print on an oversized shirt) to the house’s signature GG boucle.
Valentino
The invitation for the Valentino show was a special copy of Hanya Yanagihara’s 2015 novel A Little Life, a sprawling exploration of male friendship in New York City. Marking the Roman house’s return to the menswear schedule – recent seasons have seen the house present co-ed offerings – and also to Milan, where Valentino Garavani staged the first Valentino menswear show in 1985, the novel proved an apt counterpoint to a collection that creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli said was an attempt to ‘redefine an identity of men, to re-examine a meaning of masculinity’. Held in the courtyard of Milan’s Università Statale di Milano against a live soundtrack from New York musician D4vd, the poetic offering combined sartorial elegance – much of the collection focussed on tailoring, gently oversized or elongated – with romantic flourishes, from blooming floral prints to quotes from Yanagihara’s novel printed on bags and shirts (’we are so old, we have become young again,’ was one such slogan). Piccioli also noted a feeling of fragility in the collection, referencing the Japanese concept of ‘kintsugi’ (’golden seams’) which denotes the power of imperfection and repair. ‘A strength can be found in fragility, a power in gentleness, a perfection in imperfection,’ he said via the collection notes, likening it to his desire reconsider ‘the life of men, the life of their clothes, the reality of masculinity now’.
