At Prada, the standout collection of the week, thanks in part to the impressive staging: a series of 60s-looking room-set vignettes by Rem Koolhaas. Furnished with pastel foam furniture and household appliances rendered in plastic. Window frames with "views" were projected as backdrops to each "room". The clothes, once broken down, proved to be simple pieces that every man would have in his wardrobe. A three-button blazer, knitwear, neat teddy boy coats, with the usual Prada twist; shirting came in gingham with ruffled front. Primary colours punctuated the coat collars and untucked shirts poking out from jumper hems. Marni showed pieces that struck a similar note – wardrobe staples that work hard. Photograph: PR
Checks emerged as a key trend at London Collections last week, with E Tautz, Tom Ford and Agi & Sam all showing versions in their collections. The trend continued in Milan at Jil Sander, with blurred broken checks in tailoring at both Vivienne Westwood and John Varvatos and at Moncler Gamme Bleu. Designer Thom Browne played with the Highland games theme in a snow-covered woodland set, fusing tartan plaids and traditional kilts with Moncler's signature quilted-jacket look. British label Daks made much of the house check, reworking it in an oversized wool design on knitwear and long trailing scarves which were particularly successful
Photograph: PR/Victor VIRGILE/Gamma-Rapho/
Coats are cut with extra volume for winter 2013. Gucci showed a smart black-wool officer's coat, Versace opted for a sky-blue Chesterfield, Emporio Armani's sport tech collection featured voluminous coats in spongy neoprene, and at Trussardi designer Umit Benan layered autumnal-hued separates under roomy coats in a wearable outdoorsy collection. Photograph: PR
Statement knitwear continues to be the new shirting. In London last week Tom Ford replaced shirts with knitted polo necks under his suiting. In Milan we saw a deluge of show-stopping jumpers (often with polo necks), notably at Jil Sander. Two-tone houndstooth at Marc Jacobs, heart motifs at Burberry Prorsum, colour block at Prada, and a cracking tomato-red cable knit popped at Gucci. The jumper as the wardrobe hero is here to stay
Photograph: Stefania D'Alessandro/Getty Images Europe
Checks are too tame for some tastes – animal print made an impact on several catwalks. Supersized giraffe print at Versace decorated ties and a double-breasted suit. John Varvatos showed a more subtle leopard-fronted grey cardigan; Vivenne Westwood used a manipulated leopard print for a yellow holdall and cream and blue jumper; at Burberry Prorsum tiger stripes flashed on coat lapels, bags and sunglasses frames, and for the fashion fearless, printed ponyskin coats came in leopard and tiger stripe Photograph: PR
There were only two of these hand-embellished tops in the Dolce & Gabbana collection "Devotion", inspired by Sicilian culture and traditions. Not strictly a trend, but consider it a symbol of those holy grail items we dream about all season. A prized possession, a future family heirloom, something made by hand to be treasured for a lifetime. Every wardrobe needs one
Photograph: Helen Seamons/PR/Observer
At Calvin Klein the brand's signature urban-sports aesthetic used an embossing technique to give a herringbone or dogtooth quilted look to traditional sportswear sweatshirt and blouson shapes. Emporio Armani used a similar effect with lazer cutting on jackets and trousers to lend a sporty feel to the collection, and Neil Barrett applied it to leather for a strong graphic look. It tied in well with the quilted puffa-jacket trend that came through in London last week
Photograph: Victor VIRGILE/Gamma-Rapho
Fashion enjoys being deliberately abstruse: it might be winter, but trouser hems are on the rise. The cropped, often cuffed hem was a recurring theme in Milan. Prada led the way, anchoring the look with heavy-soled shoes – another big Milan trend – and being Prada, these were supersized teethlike treads. It's sure to be a trend that filters quickly to the high street. Hogan also had a subtle stacked heel, ideal for the vertically challenged gentleman. If you are already a man of height, the ying to the stacked-sole yang is the loafer seen at Jimmy Choo, Marc Jacobs and Emporio Armani
Photograph: Victor VIRGILE/PR/Gamma-Rapho
Sleeveless requires well-prepped arms. Or so you might think. For the gym shy (or for practical, warmth reasons), much of the autumn/winter season's sleeveless garments were shown layered over a sleeved top. Tanks and gilets were worn with contrast sleeves – often this gavethem the appearance of being one garment. Dolce & Gabbana layered a dark corduroy tank over a loose cotton collarless shirt, and at Missoni cowichan gilets were emblazoned with a bold zigzag on the rear in the colours of North American landscapes – oranges of the Grand Canyon and blues of the Pacific Ocean were shown over denim jackets. It's how you wear it: think outside the bare-arm box Photograph: Tiziana Fabi/AFP
The winter collections always feature velvet – for AW 13/14 it was not just reserved for the blazer finale but instead had a stronger presence. Giorgio Armani used it for coats, Daks used it for suiting with a bohemian air in rich brown and midnight blue, and Ermenegildo Zegna closed with a pin dot velvet tuxedo. Leather dominated the catwalk, with nearly every collection featuring outerwear in leather. Roberto Cavalli's belted strict overcoat had the glamour element in the fastenings and big patch pockets – another detail common to next winter's coats. Marni's leather-panelled hooded parka looked modern. But it wasn't all black leather: Gucci showed an oxblood military jacket and Prada mixed it up with a boxy mustard three-button jacket Photograph: Tullio M. Puglia/PR/Getty Images/PR
