Every season there are collections that conjure up immediate connections with art in your mind, but there are also conceptual shows or runways in which the architectural space is probably more interesting than the actual collection. And then there are assorted dubious and puzzling moments. During the recent menswear shows in Milan there were quite a few of them.
Dolce & Gabbana left behind their usual Baroque and grand inspirations to refocus mainly on one shade, black, and on tailoring: there were hints at poverty chic in holey jumpers, while a functional multi-pocket vest called to mind military attires (both references may have been avoided for obvious reasons). The most puzzling items, though, were the nude or white corsets. The design duo probably intended to create a look à la Mr Pearl with a shapely fitted waists, but, maybe the colours chosen for the corsets, maybe the dimensions, conjured up Dr Gibaud's legendary girdles. I admit I'm a bit biased here because I'm orthopedically challenged having broken two ribs at the beginning of the year (in an attempt at starting 2023 with a bang…), so to you they may actually look like corsets. Or, maybe, now you too will start seeing Dr Gibaud's girdles in this collection.
JW Anderson had a few puzzling moments: his trademark frilly shorts from his first collection returned but in a leather version; there were more pillow challenges (right when we thought pillow challenges had died with lockdown years ago, the trend returned as seen on Prada's runway) with models clutching pillows that looked inserted into their garments. There were plenty of models in knitted underwear carrying bolts of fabrics (laziness or a conceptual way to say "what's the point of actually making an outfit when you can imagine it?"), and Instagrammable frog-eyed slides and boots.
The latter are the result of a collaboration with British children's rubber boots Wellipets (but they will only be available in adult sizes). Was this a reference to Anderson's genderless collections (in 2010 it was discovered that pesticide was turning male frogs into females, but more recent studied found out that also healthy frogs in ponds free from pollution can reverse their sex...) or a very infantile moment? Probably a combination of both. But don't underestimate them as they may turn into must haves for JW Anderson's fans.
Mind you, they will cause divisive moments: you will be the epitome of coolness at the nursery school if you have a toddler, but will cause endless embarrassment for your teen children. You choose where you stand.
As a whole this collection had a poor offer when it came to clothes as emphasis was more on the accessories (see the frog shaped footwear and the wrestling boots) and also featured another divisive moment: long toggle coats that seemed suspended between the S&M realm and a long straitjacket. The last time a straitjacket appeared in Milan it was at a Gucci runway and it wasn't well received.
Talking about Gucci, the A/W 23 collection was supposed to be a palate cleanser after Alessandro Michele was dismissed from the fashion house last November. Almost every maximalist excess Michele may have brought to Gucci was dusted off the runway, leaving only bags to take centre stage and remind us that the house is probably interested in selling accessories (including the umpteenth version of its iconic bamboo bag) and not in making any in-depth comments about society. Show notes stated the collection was about improvisation and mentioned the in-house team, but, rather than improvising, this was an exercise in messily assembling clothes.
Cleansing Town was populated by models in oversized suits, T-shirts, rugby shirts and denim trousers patched with Gucci silk scarves. Michele's aesthetic resurfaced in slightly more risqué outfits incorporating a leopard bag and pink boots, in the oversized knitwear and in the purple skiing trousers and checkered wool skirts. There were indeed more echoes of Tom Ford and Frida Giannini throughout the show, but as a whole it was deliriously disastrous.
As we mentioned pastiches, let's pass onto Moschino's collection: here Jeremy Scott collided some ideas in upcycling/recycling introduced by Margiela and mainly involving belts and neckties (hands up who tried to do a necktie skirt? Probably all of us, with mixed results - well, Scott tried his version here...) in this collection mainly made from scrapes of collaged fabrics.
The result was rather unconvincing, especially the gangster looks in collaged fabrics in 50 shades of brown, this is definitely how Bonnie and Clyde may have looked if their car had ever ended in a fabric/vintage store as a consequence of a rocambolesque accident. Besides, the pinstriped designs in the collection borrowed from Gaultier, while evening-wear featured more exercises in surrealism with bow ties in giant sizes transformed into stoles.
There was a note of Surrealism also on Fendi's runway: "nomen est omen" (the name speaks for itself), as they said in Latin, and the house turned its trademark baguette bag into a, well, baguette-shaped umbrella case and bag. The effect was surreal and cute, but the bags came in shearling which was unnecessary and a more animal friendly option may have been found (but expect to see one of these bags on the set of "Emily in Paris" Season 4).
As we're closing with accessories, well, the latest accessory in the fashion industry is not a bag, but a K-pop band. Fashion houses have been courting K-pop idols for a long time now, and at the Milanese shows Prada invited an entire band, Enhypen, while it was recently announced that Dior signed South Korean singer, dancer and songwriter Jimin, a member of boy band BTS, as a global ambassador, while Valentino appointed another member of the same band, Suga, who joins in the fashion house Di.Vas ambassadors (a rather unconvincing acronym standing for "Different Values").
Considering these bands come with screaming crowds of fans and some bring presents (Enhypen gave presents to Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons at the end of their show), looks like K-pop icons are definitely here to stay. Bad news instead for influencers as the attention seems to be shifting and they may have to find themselves another job (a proper one). Amen to that.
Comments