As seen in the previous post, the models on Prada's men's S/S 25 runway came out a house, a small hut that seemed suspended from the floor and integrated in one of the venue walls. The house may have been interpreted in different ways, but most probably it was a building suspended between fantasy and reality, the main dichotomy that inspired also the brand's collection.
But at the Milanese menswear shows there were also some collections in which architectural details weren't incorporated in the set, but in the actual clothes.
MSGM men's S/S 25 and women's Resort 2025 co-ed show was a celebration of Massimo Giorgetti's 15th anniversary in fashion.
Inspired by his Millennial consumers, youthful spontaneity (a trend for next season), and his origins (he was born in Rimini), Giorgetti paid homage to the sea with casual designs in sailor's stripes (at times forming optical illusions and distortions à la Vasarely), and knits with intarsia of crabs, dolphins and sailing boats.
English artist Luke Edward Hall's illustrations of sailors added an arty touch to bowling shirts and to a knitted vest worn over a full-skirt.
Among the other prints and decorative motifs, there was also a photograph of a round house with sun shades mimicking the sails of a boat, standing among the rocks and viewed from the sea.
The print, used on tops, jackets and shorts, portrayed Giorgetti's retreat "La Vedetta" (in Italian "the lookout"), in Zoagli, on the Ligurian Riviera.
It was suprising that the designer opted to use it as a print as he considers La Vedetta as his hideaway, a location away from the fashion world's commotion.
While the print was somewhat predictable in a collection titled "The Sea And I," it ultimately held symbolic meaning. The residence provides Giorgetti with a unique vantage point overlooking the Ligurian Golfo del Tigullio, but here the house served as a subtle reminder to stay vigilant, both politically and socially.
Elsewhere on JW Anderson's runway there were cozy oversized quilted duvet jackets that, rather than bearing connections with the lockdown trends of Covid times, disquietingly hinted at the walls of a padded cell.
The collection then developed into more puzzling designs characterised by oversized and at times abstract shapes, from T-shirts with colorful, deflated balloon-like satin elements (or air bags maybe...) at the hem and or used as a necktie; a skirt (or was that a belt?) made with a series of woollen swatches and sweats and sweatshirts that were the result of a collaboration with Guinness (a capsule scheduled for November) with appliqued pearls decorating the name of the company and a moon face smiling on the beer head (an image lifted from early advertising).
Less extravagant and more wearable pieces included a selection of hand-knit cardigans and dresses resembling brick row houses, but the architectural references were also clear in oversized jackets with a "coffered ceiling" effect (think about the dome of Rome's Pantheon) created by a clever yarn construction.
In these designs yarns were stratified like the PLA wire extruded from a 3D printer to form a sort of coffered effect, the sunken parts of the design adding depth and texture to the garment.
For what regards the house knits, well, jumpers with houses are not a new idea, but usually they come with rows of small houses, here instead the designer opted for a jumper or a dress that represented just one house. This allowed him to concentrate more on architectural details including the windows or the door.
Were the designs a comment on the housing crisis and on the fact that it is becoming more difficult for younger generations to buy a house? Food for thought, in the meantime, for those knitting architects among us it would be nice if the designer could release a semplified knitting pattern for the house jumpers or dresses, as they have the potential of becoming another TikTok sensation as it happened with Harry Styles' cardigan.
Comments